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Aktautitan hippopotamopus
Taxonomy
Aktautitan hippopotamopus was named by Mihlbachler et al. (2004). Its type specimen is KAN N2/875, a partial skeleton, and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Kyzyl Murun near Aktau Mountain, which is in an Eocene lacustrine shale in the Kyzylbulak Formation of Kazakhstan. It is the type species of Aktautitan.
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 2004 | Aktautitan hippopotamopus Mihlbachler et al. p. 5 |
| 2008 | Aktautitan hippopotamopus Mihlbachler p. 413 |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
†Aktautitan hippopotamopus Mihlbachler et al. 2004
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Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| M. C. Mihlbachler et al. 2004 | Aktautitan hippopotamopus can generally be characterized as a large brontothere with a relatively elongate skull; unbowed zygomatic arches; unreduced dental formula (3/3 1/1 4/4 3/3); small elliptical frontonasal horns; relatively tall upper molar ectoloph with a very thin inner band of enamel; small third anterolingual cusp on the mesial cingulum of the upper molars; shal- low central fossa in the upper molars; large pointed hypocone on the M3; i2 larger than i3; metaconid absent on p2, present but small on p3, present and molariform on p4; and m3 very elongate. A. hippopotamopus is similar to Metatitan, Protembolotherium, and Embolotherium in having frontonasal protuberances that are situated close together and are elevated on tall superorbital pillars, creating a single frontonasal process. A. hippopotamopus, like Metatitan, retains a large, elevated nasal process, with downfolded lateral margins, that extends forward from the peak of the frontonasal process. A. hippopotamopus differs from Metatitan in the following characteristics: dorsal surface of the skull forms a continuously concave surface; posterior zygomatic processes absent; orbit more anterior, positioned directly above the M2; larger incisors that arch anteriorly from the canines; upper incisors grade from subglobular (I1) to caninform (I3); lower incisors short and conical with blunt points; postcanine diastema present; and p3 metaconid smaller and less lingually positioned. The distal limb segments of A. hippopotamopus are proportionally much shorter than those of other brontotheres, resulting in remarkably shortened limbs that are more similar in proportion to those of Hippopotamus and a number of short-limbed rhinocerotoids such as Teleoceras and Metamynodon. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: f = family, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum | |||||
| References: Mader 1998, Hendy et al. 2009, Carroll 1988, Ji et al. 2002, Lillegraven 1979 | |||||
Age range: Middle Eocene or 48.07000 to 37.71000 Ma
Collections: one only
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Eocene | Kazakhstan | Aktautitan hippopotamopus (type locality: 180389) |