Rytiodus

Rytiodus
Temporal range: Miocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Sirenia
Family: Dugongidae
Subfamily: Dugonginae
Genus: †Rytiodus
Species
  • R. capgrandi (type species) Lartet, 1886
  • R. heali Domning, Sorbi, 2011

Rytiodus (meaning Rytina, "wrinkled", an old name for Steller's sea cow)[1] is an extinct genus of sirenian, whose fossils have been discovered in France, Europe and Libya.

Description

With a length of 6 m (20 ft), Rytiodus was about twice the size as modern sirenians, surpassed only by Steller's sea cow, which was up to 8–9 m (26–30 ft) long. Like its closest modern relatives, the dugongs, Rytiodus had a pair of flippers, a streamlined body and a tail fin. Its flattened snout allowed it to feed in shallow coastal waters. Rytiodus had short tusks which it may have used to extract food from the sand.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ Dixon, Dougal (2008). World Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures. New York: Lorenz Books. pp. 475. ISBN 978-0-7548-1730-7.
  2. ^ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 229. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
  • Barry Cox, Colin Harrison, R.J.G. Savage, and Brian Gardiner. (1999): The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures: A Visual Who's Who of Prehistoric Life., Simon & Schuster.
  • David Norman. (2001): The Big Book Of Dinosaurs. Pg.347-348, Welcome Books.


Stub icon

This article about prehistoric Afrotheria is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.