Anoplotheriidae

Anoplotheriidae is an extinct family of hoofed mammals known chiefly from Eocene and Oligocene deposits in Europe. Its members included slender, long-tailed forms and heavier animals with specialized teeth.

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Artiodactyla: A major order of mammals whose weight is borne mainly on the third and fourth toes. Anoplotheriids are commonly classified within this even-toed mammal lineage.
Anoplotherium: An extinct genus of European anoplotheriid mammals from the Eocene and Oligocene. This genus gives the family its name and includes its best-known forms.
Anoplotherium commune: A species of Anoplotherium known from Eocene deposits in Europe. Its anatomy illustrates the distinctive proportions associated with the family’s namesake genus.
Phosphorites du Quercy: A rich assemblage of Paleogene fossil deposits in the Quercy region of southwestern France. Quercy fossils provide much of the evidence for European anoplotheriid diversity.
Condylarthra: A historical grouping of primitive ungulate mammals, now generally regarded as an artificial assemblage. Older accounts compared anoplotheriids with these generalized early hoofed mammals.
Dacrytherium: An extinct genus of small anoplotheriid mammals known from European Paleogene fossils. Its remains document a smaller-bodied member of the family.
Dental formula: A notation that records the number of each tooth type in one half of an animal’s upper and lower jaws. Anoplotheriid tooth counts and arrangements help distinguish the family from related mammals.
Paris Basin: A geological basin in northern France containing fossil-rich Cenozoic deposits. Its Eocene strata yielded classic fossils used to describe anoplotheriid mammals.
Eocene: A geological epoch spanning approximately 56 to 33.9 million years ago. Many well-known anoplotheriid fossils come from Eocene European deposits.
Diplobune: An extinct genus of anoplotheriid mammals from the European Paleogene. This genus represents another distinct branch of anoplotheriid diversity.