Trigonias

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This article is about the extinct rhinoceros. For the bivalves, see Trigoniidae.
Trigonias
Fossil range: late Eocene[1]
Trigonias skeleton.
Trigonias skeleton.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Rhinocerotidae
Genus: †Trigonias
Lucas, 1900
Type species
†Trigonias osborni
Species[2]
  • †T. osborni
  • †T. wellsi
Synonyms
  • †Procaenopus Figgins, 1934[3]

Trigonias is an extinct genus of rhinoceros from the late Eocene (Chadronian) some 35 milion years ago of North America (Prothero, 2005).

It is the oldest rhino of which a well-preserved skeleton has been found. Trigonias was about 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) long and, despite lacking horns, looked a lot like modern rhinos. Its front legs had five toes (as contrasted with three in modern rhinos), the fifth of which was vestigal.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Prothero, 2005, p. 184.
  2. ^ Prothero, 2005, pp. 35-37.
  3. ^ Prothero, 2005, p. 35.

[edit] References

  • Prothero, Donald R. 2005. The Evolution of North American Rhinoceroses. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 218 pp. ISBN 0-521-83240-3
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