Sthenodectes is a genus of brontothere endemic to 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...

 during the Paleogene

Paleogene

The Paleogene is a geologic period and system that began 65.5 ± 0.3 and ended 23.03 ± 0.05 million years ago and comprises the first part of the Cenozoic Era...

 living from 46.2—42 mya, existing for approximately .

Taxonomy

Sthenodectes was named by Gregory (1912). It was assigned to Brontotheriidae

Brontotheriidae

Brontotheriidae, also called Titanotheriidae, is a family of extinct mammals belonging to the order Perissodactyla, the order that includes horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs. Superficially they looked rather like rhinos, although they were not true rhinos and are probably most closely related to...

by Gregory (1912) and Carroll (1988).

Morphology

Two specimens were examined by M. Mendoza for body mass The first specimen was estimated to have a weight of 132.6 kg (292.3 lb). The second was estimated to have a weight of 449.5 kg (991 lb).