Chalicotheriidae

Chalicotheriidae is an extinct family of odd-toed ungulates with long forelimbs, clawed feet, and adaptations for browsing. Its members ranged across Eurasia, Africa, and North America during the Cenozoic.

Perissodactyla: Perissodactyla is the mammal order containing horses, rhinoceroses, tapirs, and their extinct relatives. Chalicotheriids belong to this order despite feet unlike those of its familiar living members.
Claw: A claw is a curved, keratinous covering at the end of a digit in many vertebrates. Chalicotheres retained claws where most perissodactyls evolved hooves.
Chalicotherium: Chalicotherium is an extinct genus of large chalicothere known from Eurasia and Africa. It is a prominent late-surviving example of the family’s distinctive form.
Cenozoic: The Cenozoic is the geological era beginning about 66 million years ago and continuing today. Chalicotheriidae evolved and disappeared during this era.
Horse: A horse is a living perissodactyl with a single hoof on each foot. Horses exemplify the hoofed limbs unlike the clawed feet of chalicotheres.
Chalicotherioidea: Chalicotherioidea is an extinct superfamily of perissodactyl mammals that includes chalicotheres and their close relatives. This broader group places Chalicotheriidae among related extinct lineages.
Forelimb: A forelimb is one of an animal’s paired front limbs, including its bones and joints. The family’s disproportionately long front limbs helped it reach vegetation.
Moropus: Moropus is an extinct genus of chalicothere known from North America. Its abundant fossils provide a well-known North American example of the family.
Eocene: The Eocene is a geological epoch lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago. Early chalicothere relatives appear in the fossil record during the Eocene.
Rhinoceros: A rhinoceros is a large living perissodactyl with thick skin and one or two horns. Rhinoceroses show another familiar perissodactyl form with conventional hooves.

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