| Homacodontidae
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Hylomeryx annectens | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Suborder: | Tylopoda |
| Family: | †Homacodontidae Marsh, 1874 |
| Genera | |
|
see text | |
Homacodontidae is an extinct familyofbasal artiodactyl mammals from the early Eocene to late OligoceneofNorth America, Europe, and Asia.
They were small animals, averaging about the size of a modern rabbit, had many primitive features. In life, they would have resembled a long-tailed muntjacorchevrotain. Dichobunids had four or five toes on each foot, with each toe ending in a small hoof. They had complete sets of teeth, unlike most later artiodactyls, with their more specialist dentitions.[1] The shape of the teeth suggests they were browsers, feeding on small leaves, perhaps in the forest undergrowth. The shape of their bodies and limbs suggests they would have been fast-running animals, unlike most of their contemporaries.[2]
McKenna and Bell (1997) listed homacodonts as a subfamily of Dichobunidae.[3] However, subsequent authors recognize Homacodontidae as a distinct family in its own right.[4][5]
The following genera are listed below as per McKenna and Bell (1997), with few additions since:
| Homacodontidae |
|
|---|---|
 | This prehistoric even-toed ungulate-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
