''Eumaiochoerus'' is an extinct genus of
even-toed ungulates
The even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla , ) are ungulates—hoofed animals—which bear weight equally on two (an even number) of their five toes: the third and fourth. The other three toes are either present, absent, vestigial, or pointing poster ...
that existed during the
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
.
Description
''Eumaiochoerus'' had a short snout, spatulate upper incisors and small, chisel-shaped lower tusks.
Fossils of ''Eumaiochoerus'' were found in
Baccinello
Baccinello is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Scansano, province of Grosseto. At the time of the 2001 census its population amounted to 284.Montebamboli
Montebamboli is a hamlet and località in the comune of Massa Marittima, Tuscany, Italy. The settlement was first mentioned in a parchment from the year 754, and it is located in the hills of what is now the centre of Massa Marittima, within the P ...
in Italy, which at the time of its existence would have been an island chain. ''Eumaiochoerus'' does show characteristics of an insular mammal, being much smaller in size than its mainland relative ''
Microstonyx
''Microstonyx'' was an extinct genus of suid that existed during the Miocene in Asia and Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its h ...
''.
See also
''
Oreopithecus
''Oreopithecus'' (from the Greek , and , , meaning "hill-ape") is an extinct genus of hominoid primate from the Miocene epoch whose fossils have been found in today's Tuscany and Sardinia in Italy. It existed nine to seven million years ago in ...
''
References
Prehistoric Suidae
Miocene mammals of Europe
Miocene even-toed ungulates
Prehistoric even-toed ungulate genera
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