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Merycochoerus proprius

Mammalia - Merycoidodontidae

Taxonomy
Merycochoerus proprius was named by Leidy (1858) [genotype]. Its type specimen is ANSP 10868, ANSP 10867, NM 156, a mandible, and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Niobrara River (coll. Hayden 1857), which is in a Barstovian/Clarendonian terrestrial horizon in the Loup Fork Formation of Nebraska. It is the type species of Merycochoerus.

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1858Merycochoerus proprius Leidy p. 24
1873Merycochoerus proprius Leidy p. 201
1884Merycochoerus proprius Cope p. 535
1902Merycochoerus proprius Hay p. 668
1906Merycochoerus proprius Douglass p. 567
1937Merycochoerus proprius Thorpe p. 157 figs. PI. XXII; PI. XXIII, figs. 1-3
1940Merycochoerus proprius Schultz and Falkenbach p. 280
2007Merycochoerus proprius Stevens and Stevens p. 160
2023Merycochoerus proprius Stevens et al. p. 76 figs. Figures 53, 57-60; Appendix 7A; Table A26

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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()
—Mammaliamorpha
RankNameAuthor
—Mammaliaformes
classMammalia
—Theriamorpha(Rowe 1993)
—Theriiformes()
—Trechnotheria
—Cladotheria
—Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
—Eutheria()
—Placentalia
—Boreoeutheria
—Laurasiatheria
—Scrotifera
—Euungulata
—Artiodactylamorpha
—Artiodactyla()
familyMerycoidodontidae
subfamilyMerycochoerinae
genusMerycochoerus
speciesproprius

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 proprius Leidy 1858
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Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
C. B. Schultz and C. H. Falkenbach 1940SKULL.-Average larger and more massive than M. proprius magnus or M. matthewi; very high muzzle and maxillre; maxillary notch of sigmoid curve, below nasals, retracted to a point above MLM 2 ; nasals retracted more than in M. proprius magnus or M. matthewi; tendency for nasals to protrude upward anteriorly; brain case with a pronounced ridge.
MANDIBLE.-More robust than examples of M. matthewi.
DENTITIONs.-Slightly heavier than those of M. matthewi, but overlapping in size range with that species.
LIMBs.-Definitely heavier than examples of M. matthewi; feet shorter and more robust than those of M. matthewi.
M. S. Stevens et al. 2023Largest species of Merycochoerus (M1-3 length = 90-100 mm; P2-M3 length = 130-150 mm; m1-3 length = 95-105 mm; p2-m3 length =135-150 mm); nasals retracted above M1-2, and the nasal bone reduced to a short blunt curve, and pointed upward and anteriorly; pronounced sagittal crest. Dorsal border of premaxillary and maxillary notch has a curved, sigmoidal shape; high, massive rostrum and maxillary