Numidotheriidae is an extinct family of primitive

proboscidea The Proboscidea (; , ) are a taxonomic order of afrotherian mammals containing one living family (Elephantidae) and several extinct families. First described by J. Illiger in 1811, it encompasses the elephants and their close relatives. From ...

n that lived from the late

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), E ...

to the early

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

periods of North Africa. Fragmentary fossils (mainly teeth) of the early Eocene genera, ''

Daouitherium ''Daouitherium'' ("Sidi Daoui beast" from the name of the site where it was discovered) is an extinct genus of early proboscideans (a group including modern elephants and their extinct relatives) that lived during the early Eocene (Ypresian sta ...

'' and ''

Phosphatherium ''Phosphatherium escuillei'' is a basal proboscidean that lived from the Late Paleocene to the early stages of the Ypresian age until the early Thanetian some 56 million years ago in North Africa. Research has suggested that ''Phosphatherium'' ex ...

'', have been found in the Ouled Abdun Basin,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. ''

Numidotherium ''Numidotherium'' ("Numidia beast") is an extinct genus of early proboscideans, discovered in 1984, that lived during the middle Eocene of North Africa some 46 million years ago. It was about 90-100 cm tall at the shoulder and weighed about 250-3 ...

'' is known from an almost complete skeleton from late early Eocene deposits in southern

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

and

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

. Compared to modern

elephants Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and ...

, the Numidotheriidae were quite small. ''Phosphatherium'', for instance, was only 60 cm long and weighed about 15 kg. ''Numidotherium'' was about 1 m in length. They occupied a similar ecological niche to the modern

hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...

and the related early proboscid ''

Moeritherium ''Moeritherium'' ("the beast from Lake Moeris") is an extinct genus of primitive proboscideans. These prehistoric mammals are related to the elephant and, more distantly, sea cows and hyraxes Hyraxes (), also called dassies, are small, thick ...

'', feeding on soft, aquatic plants in marshy environments. The Numidotheriidae are not believed to be direct ancestors of modern elephants, but a collateral branch.

References

Eocene proboscideans Prehistoric mammal families Paleocene first appearances Eocene extinctions {{paleo-proboscidean-stub