Barytherium
Encyclopedia
Barytherium is a genus
of an extinct family
(Barytheriidae) of primitive proboscidean that lived during the late Eocene
and early Oligocene
in North Africa. The Barytheriidae were the first large size proboscideans to appear in the fossil records and were characterized by a strong sexual dimorphism .
The only known species within this family is Barytherium grave, found at the beginning of the 20th century in the Fayum, Egypt
. More complete specimens have been found since then, at Dor el Talha Libya
and most recently at Aidum area in Oman
. In some respects, these animals would have looked similar to a modern Asian Elephant
, but with a more slender build . The most visible difference, however, would have been the tusks . Barytherium had eight very short tusks, four each in the upper and lower jaws, which resembled those of a modern hippopotamus
more than those of an elephant. The upper pairs were vertical, while the lower pairs projected forwards from the mouth horizontally. Together, these would have created a shearing action for cropping plants.
Barytherium fossils were discovered in 2011 in the Aidum area in Dhofar by Oman's Ministry of Heritage and Culture and brought to Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) for identification. The team included Professor Sobhi Nasir and Dr. Abdulrahman al Harthy from SQU and Dr. Erick Seifert from SUNY Stony Brook, New York. The scientists named the new finding Barytherium Omansi.
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...
of an extinct family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
(Barytheriidae) of primitive proboscidean that lived 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...
and early 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...
in North Africa. The Barytheriidae were the first large size proboscideans to appear in the fossil records and were characterized by a strong sexual dimorphism .
The only known species within this family is Barytherium grave, found at the beginning of the 20th century in the Fayum, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. More complete specimens have been found since then, at Dor el Talha Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
and most recently at Aidum area in Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
. In some respects, these animals would have looked similar to a modern Asian Elephant
Asian Elephant
The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....
, but with a more slender build . The most visible difference, however, would have been the tusks . Barytherium had eight very short tusks, four each in the upper and lower jaws, which resembled those of a 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...
more than those of an elephant. The upper pairs were vertical, while the lower pairs projected forwards from the mouth horizontally. Together, these would have created a shearing action for cropping plants.
Barytherium fossils were discovered in 2011 in the Aidum area in Dhofar by Oman's Ministry of Heritage and Culture and brought to Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) for identification. The team included Professor Sobhi Nasir and Dr. Abdulrahman al Harthy from SQU and Dr. Erick Seifert from SUNY Stony Brook, New York. The scientists named the new finding Barytherium Omansi.