Amblypoda is a taxonomic hypothesis uniting a group of extinct, herbivorous mammals. They were considered a suborder of the primitive ungulate mammals, and have since been shown to represent a polyphyletic group. Orders Subclass Multituberculata (extinct) Plagiaulacida Cimolodonta Subclass Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Subclass Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Eutheria (includes extinct ancestors)/Placentalia (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata (extinct) Perissodactyla Pholidota Plesiadapiformes... Llamas such as this, which have two toes, are artiodactylas -- even toed ungulates Ungulates (meaning roughly hoofed or hoofed animal) make up several orders of mammals, of which six to eight survive. ... In biology, a taxon is polyphyletic if it is descended from more than one root form (in Greek poly = many and phyletic = racial). ...

Characteristics

The Amblypoda take their name from their short and stumpy feet, which were furnished with five toes each, and supported massive pillar-like limbs. The brain-cavity was extremely small and insignificant in comparison to the bodily mass, which was equal to that of the largest rhinoceroses. These animals are, in fact, descendants of the small ancestral ungulates which retained all the primitive characteristics of the latter accompanied by a huge increase in body size. Genera Ceratotherium Dicerorhinus Diceros Rhinoceros Coelodonta (extinct) Elasmotherium (extinct) A rhinoceros (commonly called a rhino for short) is any of five surviving species of odd-toed ungulate in the family Rhinocerotidae. ...

The Amblypoda are confined to the Eocene period, and occur both in North America and Europe. The cheek teeth are short crowned (brachyodont), with the tubercles more-or-less completely fused into transverse ridges, or cross-crests (lophodont type); and the total number of teeth is in one case the typical 44, but in another is less. The vertebra of the neck unite on nearly flat surfaces, the humerus has lost the foramen, or perforation, at the lower end, and the third trochanter to the femur may also be wanting. In the fore-limb the upper and lower series of carpal (finger) bones scarcely alternate, but in the hind-foot the astragalus overlaps the cuboid, while the fibula, which is quite distinct from the tibia (as is the radius from the ulna in the fore-limb), articulates with both astragalus and calcaneum. The Eocene epoch (56-34 Ma) is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Palaeogene period in the Cenozoic era. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the... World map showing Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... A diagram of a thoracic vertebra. ... The humerus is a long bone in the arm or fore-legs (animals) that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. ... Anterior view of the femur The femur or thigh bone is the longest, most voluminous and strongest bone of the human body. ... In human anatomy, the carpal bones are the bones of the human wrist. ... Figure 1 : Lower extremity of right fibula. ... Figure 1 : Upper surface of right tibia. ... The radius and ulna of the left forearm, posterior surface. ... The ulna (Elbow Bone) [Figs. ...

Types of amblypods

The most generalized type is Coryphodon, representing the family Coryphodontidae, from the lower Eocene of Europe and North America, in which there were 44 teeth, and no horn-like excrescences on the long skull, while the femur had a third trochanter. The canines are somewhat elongated, and were followed by a short gap in each jaw, and the cheek-teeth were adapted for succulent food. The length of the body reached about six feet in some cases.

In the middle Eocene formations of North America occurs the more specialized Uintatherium (or Dinoceras), typifying the family Uintatheriidae. Uintatheres were huge creatures with long narrow skulls, of which the elongated facial portion carried three pairs of bony horn-cores, probably covered with short horns in life, the hind-pair being much the largest. The dental formula is i. 0/3, c. 1/1, p. 3/3·4, m. 3/3; the upper canines being long sabre-like weapons, protected by a descending flange on each side of the lower front jaw. Uintatherium is an extinct genus of mammals. ... The Uintatheriidae is a group of extinct mammals that includes Uintatherium. ...

In the basal Eocene of North America, the Amblypoda were represented by extremely primitive, five-toed, small ungulates such as Periptychus and Pantolambda, each of these typifying a family. The full typical series of 44 teeth was developed in each, but whereas in the Periptychidae the upper molars were bunodont and tritubercular, in the Pantolambdidae they have assumed a selenodont structure. Creodont characters are displayed in the skeleton. Families Oxyaenidae Hyaenodontidae The creodonts were an extinct order of mammals that lived from the Paleocene to the Pliocene. ...

Current taxonomy of animals once classified in amblypoda

Few authorities recognize Amblypoda in modern classifications. The following mammals were once considered part of this group:

• Order Pholidota (pangolins)
• Order Pantodonta
  • Family Wangliidae
  • Family Harpyodidae
  • Family Bemalambdidae
  • Family Pastoralodontidae
  • Family Titanoideidae
  • Family Pantolambdidae (including Pantolambda)
  • Family Barylambdidae
  • Family Cyriacotheriidae
  • Family Pantolambdodontidae
  • Family Coryphodontidae (including Coryphodon)

• Order Dinocerata
  • Family Uintatheriidae (includes Uintatherium, Eobasileus, Tetheopsis, etc. Gobiatherium is sometimes placed in its won family)

• Order Condylartha
  • Family Hyopsodontidae
  • Family Mioclaenidae
  • Family Phenacodontidae
  • Family Periptychidae (including Periptychus)
  • Family Peligrotheriidae
  • Family Didolodontidae

Species Manis gigantea Manis temmincki Manis tricuspis Manis tetradactyla Manis crassicaudata Manis pentadactyla Manis javanica Pangolins are mammals with large scales on their skins which can be found in parts of Africa and Asia. ... Species Manis culionensis Manis gigantea Manis temmincki Manis tricuspis Manis tetradactyla Manis crassicaudata Manis pentadactyla Manis javanica Pangolins or scaly anteaters are mammals in the Pholidota order. ... The Uintatheriidae is a group of extinct mammals that includes Uintatherium. ... Uintatherium is an extinct genus of mammals. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, a publication in the public domain.