The Amynodonts were a group of hippo-like perissodactyls, related to true rhinoceri

Rhinoceros

Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....

, that were descended from the Hyracodontidae

Hyracodontidae

Hyracodontidae is an extinct family of rhinoceroses endemic to North America, Europe, and Asia during the Eocene through early Miocene living from 55.8—20 mya, existing for approximately .They are typified as having long limbs and having no horns...

. They ranged from North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 during the Late Eocene to Miocene

Miocene

The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...

 living from 46.2 Ma—7 Ma years ago and existed for approximately .

The last species died out during the early Miocene

Miocene

The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...

 of North America, due to competition with the true rhinoceros Teleoceras

Teleoceras

Teleoceras is an extinct genus of grazing rhinoceros that lived in North America during the Miocene epoch, which ended about 5.3 million years ago, all the way to the early Pliocene epoch....

. Although more closely related to rhinoceros

Rhinoceros

Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....

es, they had an appearance closer to modern hippopotamus

Hippopotamus

The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...

es, with large, curved, canine teeth, and probably lived in a semi-aquatic habitat. Some amynodonts, such as Cadurcodon, had an appearance closer to that of tapirs.
The most famous, and longest-lived genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 is Metamynodon

Metamynodon

Metamynodon is an extinct genus of amynodont perissodactyls, and is among the longest lived genera of amynodonts, having first appeared during the late Eocene, and becoming extinct during the early Miocene, when it was supplanted by the semiaquatic rhinoceros, Teleoceras...

, which first appeared during the Late Eocene

Eocene

The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...

 in Central Asia, and eventually died out during the early Miocene

Miocene

The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...

 in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, long after all other amynodont genera died out in Eurasia by the late Oligocene

Oligocene

The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...

.

Taxonomy

†

Extinction

In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...

Amynodontidae

• Subfamily Amynodontinae
  • Tribe Cadurcodontini
    • Genus Cadurcodon
    • Genus Lushiamynodon
    • Genus Sharamynodon
    • Genus Sianodon
  • Tribe Metamynodontini
    • Genus Gigantamynodon
    • Genus Metamynodon
      Metamynodon
      Metamynodon is an extinct genus of amynodont perissodactyls, and is among the longest lived genera of amynodonts, having first appeared during the late Eocene, and becoming extinct during the early Miocene, when it was supplanted by the semiaquatic rhinoceros, Teleoceras...
      
      
    • Genus Paramynodon
    • Genus Zaisanamynodon
  • Tribe incertae sedis
    • Genus Amynodon
• Subfamily incertae sedis
  • Genus Amynodontopsis
  • Genus Armania
  • Genus Cadurcamynodon
  • Genus Cadurcopsis
  • Genus Cadurcotherium
  • Genus Caenolophus
  • Genus Euryodon
  • Genus Hypsamynodon
  • Genus Megalamynodon
  • Genus Mesamynodon
  • Genus Penetrigonias
  • Genus Procadurcodon
  • Genus Rostriamynodon
  • Genus Teilhardia
  • Genus Toxotherium