Moeritherium

Moeritherium ('the beast from Lake Moeris') is a genus consisting of several extinct species. These prehistoric mammals are related to the elephant and, more distantly, the sea cow. They lived during the Eocene epoch.

Description

The Moeritherium species were pig-like animals that lived about 37-35 million years ago, and resembled modern tapirs or pygmy hippopotamuses (however, they are not believed to be related to either of those animals). M. lyonsi was smaller than most or all later proboscideans, standing only 70 centimetres (2.3 ft) high at the shoulder and weighing 235 kilograms (518 lb). The shape of their teeth suggests that they ate soft water vegetation.

The shape of the skull suggests that, while Moeritherium did not have an elephant-like trunk, 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.

Discovery