Floridaceras

Floridaceras
Temporal range: Miocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Rhinocerotidae
Subfamily: †Aceratheriinae
Genus: †Floridaceras
Wood, 1964
Species:
†F. whitei
Binomial name
†Floridaceras whitei
Wood, 1964

Floridaceras is an extinct genus of rhinocerotid of the Miocene epoch (early Hemingfordian), endemic to North America, living from around ~20.6–16.3 Ma, existing for approximately 4.3 million years.

Taxonomy

Floridaceras was named by Wood (1964). Its type is Floridaceras whitei. It was assigned to Rhinocerotidae by Wood (1964) and Carroll (1988); and to Aceratheriinae by Prothero (1998).[1]

Fossil distribution

The only site known is the Thomas Farm Site in Gilchrist County, Florida, ~20.6—16.3 Ma.[2]

Description

Floridaceras was of unusually large size for a rhinoceros of the Hemingfordian. It would have been roughly comparable to a black rhinoceros[3] in size, much larger than contemporaries such as the Menoceras. Like many primitive Aceratheriines, it has no horn, relatively long limbs and brachydont dentition (indicating it was a browser).[4]

Sources

  1. ^ D. R. Prothero. 1998. Rhinocerotidae. In C. M. Janis, K. M. Scott, and L. L. Jacobs (eds.), Evolution of Tertiary mammals of North America 595-605
  2. ^ T. E. White. 1942. The Lower Miocene mammal fauna of Florida. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 92(1):1-49
  3. ^ Pony Express Florida: Fossil Horse Newsletter · Volumes 1-10. Florida Museum of Natural History. 1992.
  4. ^ Prothero, Donald R. (2005). The Evolution of North American Rhinoceroses. Cambridge University Press. pp. 67–68. ISBN 9780521832403.


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