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Hyracotherium leporinum

Mammalia - Perissodactyla - Palaeotheriidae

Taxonomy
Hyracotherium leporinum was named by Owen (1841). Its type specimen is BMNH 16336, a skull, and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Studd Hill, which is in a Ypresian marine horizon in the London Clay Formation of the United Kingdom. It is the type species of Hyracotherium.

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1841Hyracotherium leporinum Owen
1994Hyracotherium leporinum Hooker
2002Hyracotherium leporinum Froehlich p. 183
2017Hyracotherium leporinum Remy

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
subclassSynapsida
—Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
RankNameAuthor
—Mammaliamorpha
—Mammaliaformes
classMammalia
—Cladotheria
—Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
—Eutheria()
—Placentalia
—Boreoeutheria
—Laurasiatheria
—Scrotifera
—Euungulata
—Panperissodactyla
superorderPerissodactylamorpha
orderPerissodactyla()
superfamilyEquoidea
familyPalaeotheriidaeBonaparte 1850
genusHyracotheriumOwen 1841
speciesleporinumOwen 1841

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.

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Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
D. J. Froehlich 2002The taxon can be diagnosed by the presence of a single identified unambiguous autapomorphy: upper molar ectocingulum broken at paracone (Char- acter 43, 0 to 1). It can also be diagnosed by its phylogenetic position. It has the following synapomorphies: upper molar ectoloph slightly W- shaped (Character 48, 0 to 1), upper molar convergence angle >100° (Character 65, 1 to 0), lower molar cristid obliqua anterior end slightly lingual (Character 80, 2 to 1), lower molar cristid obliqua anterior end high (Character 82, 0 to 1). The taxon lacks the synapomorphies of the next more-derived clade: pre- molar diastema absent (Character 18, 1 to 0), upper molar parastyle lateral (Character 40, 0 to 1), upper molar protoloph sub-lophoid (Character 53, 0 to 1), upper molars relatively broad (Character 64, 0 to 1), M3 larger than M2, M3 larger than M2 (Character 67, 1 to 2), and lower molar protolophid incipiently lophoid (Character 89, 1 to 2).
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: terrestrialf
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: ground dwellingf
Diet: frugivoref
Diet 2: folivoref
Reproduction: viviparoussubc
Created: 2005-09-01 05:07:24
Modified: 2005-09-01 08:24:50
Source: f = family, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum
References: Hendy et al. 2009, Carroll 1988, Lillegraven 1979, Benton 1996

Age range: base of the Early/Lower Eocene to the top of the Ypresian or 55.80000 to 47.80000 Ma

Collections (6 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Ypresian56.0 - 47.8United Kingdom (England) Hyracotherium leporinum (13299 type locality: 68436 68439)
Ypresian56.0 - 47.8France (Île-de-France) Hyracotherium leporinum (68437)
Ypresian56.0 - 47.8France (Marne) Hyracotherium leporinum (35537)
Early/Lower Eocene - Middle Eocene55.8 - 37.71United Kingdom (England) Hyracotherium leporinum (3256)