Moeritherium

Temporal range: Late Eocene Moeritherium lyonsi as it appeared in Walking with Beasts Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Proboscidea Family: †Moeritheriidae

C.W. Andrews, 1906 Genus: †Moeritherium

C.W. Andrews, 1901 Referred species † Moeritherium andrewsi

(Schlosser, 1911)

† Moeritherium chehbeurameuri

(Delmer et al ., 2006)

† Moeritherium gracile

(Andrews, 1902)

† Moeritherium lyonsi

(Andrews, 1901) (type)

† Moeritherium trigodon

(Andrews, 1904)

Moeritherium ('the beast from Lake Moeris') is a genus of basal proboscidian, consisting of several species. They lived during the Eocene epoch.

The Moeritherium species were animals that lived about 37-35 million years ago, and probably looked like a cross between a tapir and a hippo. They were smaller than modern elephants, standing only 70 centimetres (2.3 feet) high at the shoulder and were about 3 metres (9.8 ) long. They are believed to have wallowed in swamps and rivers, filling the ecological niche now filled by the hippopotamus. The shape of their teeth suggest that they ate soft water vegetation.

The shape of the skull suggests that Moeritherium did not have an elephant-like trunk, but it may have had a broad flexible upper lip like a tapir's for grasping aquatic vegetation. The second incisor teeth formed small tusks, although these would have looked more like the teeth of a hippo than a modern elephant.

Moeritherium is not believed to be an ancestor of modern elephants; it was a branch of the order that died out, leaving no descendants. There were several species of early elephants in existence during the Eocene, and some, such as Paleomastodon, looked relatively similar to modern elephants. However, Moeritherium typified a branch of the family that evolved in a quite different way, having only a stubby trunk and short legs.

The first fossils of Moeritherium were discovered in the Egyptian Fayum in 1904. It is also found in other sites around North and West Africa. By 36 million years ago there were already several members of the elephant family - some of them looked pretty similar to modern elephants. Moeritherium, however, was a bit of a side branch who seems to have adopted a hippo-like lifestyle, and didn't have the familiar trunk or tusks.

In Popular Culture

Moeritherium was 1st seen briefly in Discovery Channel's Land of the Mammoth.

was 1st seen briefly in Discovery Channel's Land of the Mammoth. Moeritherium was seen living in the mangrove waterway eating Marian plants. in the second episode of the BBC documentary Walking with Beasts.

was seen living in the mangrove waterway eating Marian plants. in the second episode of the BBC documentary Walking with Beasts. Moeritherium was seen in the Ice Age Films.

was seen in the Ice Age Films. Moeritherium was seen as a fiberglass model & attacked by Gigantophis in David Attenborough's Natural History Museum Alive.

was seen as a fiberglass model & attacked by Gigantophis in David Attenborough's Natural History Museum Alive. Moeritherium appeared in the video game Jurassic Park Builder.

Moeritherium/Gallery