Brontops

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Brontops
Fossil range: Late Eocene

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Perissodactyla
Family:	Brontotheriidae
Genus:	Brontops Marsh, 1887

Species

B. robustus (type)
B. amplus
B. bicornutus
B. brachycephalus
B. dispar
B. selwynianus
B. tyleri

Brontops, BRON-tops ('thunder face') is an extinct genus of rhinoceros-like perissodactyl mammal.

[edit] Appearance

Brontops robustus skeleton.

A typical brontothere, Brontops was a huge rhinoceros-like creature standing 2.50 m (8 ft 4 in) tall at the shoulder, though the species B. dispar, could be about the size of a modern-day white rhino. It looked similar to the better known Brontotherium, possessing the same pair of blunt, horn-like protrusions on its snout, though they were considerably shorter. According to Mihlbachler et al. 2004, Brontops was subsumed into genus Megacerops.

[edit] Fighting

The skeleton of an adult male was found with partially healed rib fractures and supports the theory that males used their 'horns' to fight each other. No creature living in Brontops's time and area except another Brontops could have inflicted such an injury. The breathing movements prevented the fractures from completely healing. The adults may have also used their horns to defend themselves and their calves from predators, such as creodonts or nimravids.

[edit] In popular culture

Two brontotheres with the size and build of Brontops and the horns of other brontotheres were featured in the family film Ice Age. A younger individual appeared in Ice Age 2.