Chalicotherium

Common card · No. 260654

Chalicotherium (from Ancient Greek χάλιξ (khálix), meaning "gravel", and θηρίον (theríon), meaning "beast") is an extinct genus of perissodactyls in the family Chalicotheriidae. It inhabited Europe and Asia from the Early Miocene to the Late Miocene, 23.0–5.3 million years ago. Like other chalicotheriids, the species was an unusual herbivore with elongated, clawed forelimbs and shorter, more robust weight-bearing hindlimbs. The type species, Chalicotherium goldfussi, was described by Johann Jakob Kaup in 1833 from Late Miocene deposits in Europe. When French naturalist George Cuvier received a large, cleft claw from Eppelheim, Germany, he mistakenly identified it as the toe bone of a giant pangolin.

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