Embolotherium

Common card · No. 258106

Embolotherium (lit. 'battering ram beast') is an extinct genus of horned brontothere that lived in East Asia during the Late Eocene, in the Ulangochuian and Ergilian land mammal ages. Fossils of Embolotherium have mainly been found in Inner Mongolia in China, and in Mongolia, particularly in the Ulan Gochu and Ergilin Dzo formations. Embolotherium is distinguished from other brontotheres by its "ram", a highly unique and elongated structure at the front of the skull. The ram developed from the horns, frontal bones, and nasal bones of Embolotherium's ancestors. In the past, the ram was interpreted as functioning like a horn and to have been used for combat. The skeletal features of the ram, such as the nasal septum running along the entire length of the structure, instead indicate that the ram was incorporated into a large soft-tissue snout, and served to support a large nasal cavity. The orientation and position of the ram is among the features that serve to distinguish the two currently...

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