Moeritherium ('the beast from Lake Moeris') was a prehistoric mammal related to the elephant and, more distantly, the sea cow. It lived during the Late Eocene period. Its fossils have been found in the deposits of the Al Fayyum Oasis of Egypt. Orders Subclass Monotremata Monotremata Subclass Marsupialia Didelphimorphia Paucituberculata Microbiotheria Dasyuromorphia Peramelemorphia Notoryctemorphia Diprotodontia Subclass Placentalia Xenarthra Dermoptera Desmostylia Scandentia Primates Rodentia Lagomorpha Insectivora Chiroptera Pholidota Carnivora Perissodactyla Artiodactyla Cetacea Afrosoricida Macroscelidea Tubulidentata Hyracoidea Proboscidea Sirenia The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals primarily characterized by the presence of mammary... Genera and Species Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta africana Elephas Elephas maximus Elephantidae (the elephants) is the only extant family in the order Proboscidea. ... Families Dugongidae Trichechidae For information about the Gothic Metal band, see Sirenia (band) Sirenia are herbivorous mammals of coastal waters. ... The Eocene epoch (55-37 mya) is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Tertiary period in the Cenozoic era. ... FOSSIL is a standard for allowing serial communication for telecommunications programs under DOS. FOSSIL stands for Fido Opus SEAdog Standard Interface Layer and was made by a group of Fidonet sysops to make their software work on different machines. ... Interstate road cut through limestone and shale strata in eastern Tennessee In geology and related fields, a stratum (plural: strata) is a layer of rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguishes it from contiguous layers. ... Al Fayyum is one of the governorates of Egypt located in the centre of the country. ...

There were several species of early elephants in existence during the Eocene, and some, such as Palaeomastodon, looked relatively similar to modern elephants. However, Moerithereium was a branch of the family that evolved in a quite different way, having only a stubby trunk and short legs. It was smaller than modern elephants, standing only 70 cm high at the shoulder and was about 3 m long. It is believed to have wallowed in swamps and rivers, filling the ecological niche now filled by the hippopotamus. The shape of its teeth suggest that it ate soft water vegetation. Charles Darwin, the father of evolutionary theory Although generally, evolution is taken to mean any process of change over time, in the context of life science, evolution is a change in the traits of living organisms over generations, including the emergence of new species. ... (Redirected from 1 E 1 m) To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 10 m and 100 m. ... To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between one metre and ten metres. ... A freshwater swamp A swamp is a wetland that features permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water, generally with a substantial number of hummocks, or dry-land protrusions. ... For the Second World War frigate class, see River class frigate The Murray River in Australia A waterfall on the Ova da Fedoz, Switzerland A river is a large natural waterway. ... Generally, a niche is a special place within the scheme of things. ... Binomial name Hippopotamus amphibius Linnaeus, 1758 The Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) or Greek ἵππόποταμος (river horse) is a large, plant-eating African mammal, one of only two living and three (or four) recently extinct species in the family Hippopotamidae. ... Types of teeth Molars are used for grinding up foods Carnassials are used for slicing food. ...

Moeritherium is not believed to be an ancestor of modern elephants; it was a branch of the order that died out, leaving no descendants.

External links

• BBC Online: Walking With Beasts (http://www.bbc.co.uk/beasts/evidence/prog2/page7.shtml)