Chalicotheriidae

Common card · No. 206188

Chalicotheriidae (from Ancient Greek χάλιξ (khálix), meaning "gravel", and θηρίον (theríon), meaning "beast") is an extinct family of herbivorous, perissodactyl mammals that lived in North America, Eurasia, and Africa from the Oligocene to the Early Pleistocene. Unlike living odd-toed ungulates, chalicotheres bore large claws on their hands rather than hooves, thought to have been used for grasping vegetation, with their dentition being adapted for browsing on foliage as well as possibly bark and fruit. Chalicotheriidae is divided into two subfamilies, Chalicotheriinae and Schizotheriinae. While members of Schizotheriinae had body proportions resembling those of other ungulates, members of the subfamily Chalicotheriinae developed unusual elongated gorilla-like forelimbs.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Postdlf, CC BY-SA 3.0