PBDB Taxon

Basic info	Taxonomic history	Classification	Included Taxa
Morphology	Ecology and taphonomy	External Literature Search	Age range and collections

Merycochoerus magnus

Mammalia - Merycoidodontidae

Taxonomy

Merycochoerus magnus was named by Loomis (1924). Its type locality is Agate (7 Miles NE), which is in a Harrisonian terrestrial horizon in the Marsland Formation of Nebraska.

It was recombined as Merycochoerus proprius magnus by Schultz and Falkenbach (1940); it was synonymized subjectively with Merycochoerus proprius by Galbreath (1953).

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
1924	Merycochoerus magnus Loomis
1937	Merycochoerus magnus Thorpe p. 154 figs. Figs. 4, 113; PL XXI
1940	Merycochoerus proprius magnus Schultz and Falkenbach p. 286
1980	Merycochoerus magnus Vanderhill
2007	Merycochoerus magnus Stevens and Stevens p. 164
2023	Merycochoerus magnus Stevens et al. p. 79 figs. Figures 53, 61

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Rank	Name	Author
kingdom	Animalia	()
—	Bilateria
—	Eubilateria	Ax 1987
—	Deuterostomia
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1874
subphylum	Vertebrata
superclass	Gnathostomata
—	Osteichthyes	()
subclass	Sarcopterygii	()
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha	(Nelson 2006)
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha	()
—	Tetrapoda
—	Reptiliomorpha
—	Anthracosauria
subclass	Amphibiosauria	Kuhn 1967
—	Cotylosauria	()
—	Amniota
subclass	Synapsida
—	Therapsida	()
infraorder	Cynodontia	()

Rank	Name	Author
—	Mammaliamorpha
—	Mammaliaformes
class	Mammalia
—	Cladotheria
—	Zatheria
subclass	Tribosphenida	()
subclass	Theria
—	Eutheria	()
—	Placentalia
—	Boreoeutheria
—	Laurasiatheria
—	Scrotifera
—	Euungulata
—	Artiodactylamorpha
—	Artiodactyla	()
suborder	Tylopoda	()
family	Merycoidodontidae
subfamily	Merycochoerinae
genus	Merycochoerus
species	magnus

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.

†Merycochoerus magnus Loomis 1924

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Diagnosis

Reference	Diagnosis
M. S. Stevens et al. 2023	Large merycochoerine (M1-3 length = 83-87 mm; P2-M3 length = 135-140 mm), just slightly smaller than M. proprius but slightly larger than M. matthewi (Fig. 53C- D), with less robust zygomatic arches than M. proprius, and a sagittal crest that ends some distance before the lambdoid region. Nasal bones point forward, not upward. Dorsal border of the premaxillae along the nasal incision not as strongly sigmoid shaped as in M. proprius, but more curved than in M. matthewi.

Measurements

No measurements are available

Composition:

phosphaticsubp

Environment:

terrestrialo

Locomotion:

actively mobilec

Life habit:

ground dwellingf

Diet:

herbivoref

Reproduction:

viviparoussubc

Created:

2005-08-31 14:37:21

Modified:

2005-08-31 16:37:21

Source: f = family, o = order, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum

References: Lillegraven 1979, Carroll 1988, Lander 1998, Hendy et al. 2009, Nowak 1999

Age range: base of the Early/Lower Miocene to the top of the Hemingfordian or 23.04000 to 16.30000 Ma

Collections (7 total)

Time interval	Ma	Country or state	Original ID and collection number
Harrisonian	23.1 - 18.5	USA (Nebraska)	Merycochoerus magnus (type locality: 17739)
Early/Lower Miocene	23.04 - 15.98	USA (Colorado)	Merycochoerus proprius (18978)
Early/Lower Hemingfordian	18.5 - 16.3	USA (Wyoming)	Merycochoerus magnus (167862) Merycochoerus proprius (18882)
Early/Lower Hemingfordian	18.5 - 16.3	USA (Oregon)	Merycochoerus magnus (167866)
Hemingfordian	18.5 - 16.3	USA (Wyoming)	Merycochoerus magnus (17886)
Hemingfordian	18.5 - 16.3	USA (Colorado)	Merycochoerus magnus (17964)