Prorastomus
| Prorastomus Temporal range:
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Sirenia |
| Family: | †Prorastomidae |
| Genus: | †Prorastomus Owen, 1855 |
| Species: | †P. sirenoides
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| Binomial name | |
| †Prorastomus sirenoides Owen, 1855
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Prorastomus sirenoides is an extinct species of primitive sirenian that lived during the Eocene Epoch 40 million years ago in Jamaica.
Taxonomy
The generic name Prorastomus, a combination of Greek πρῷρα (prōra), prow, and στόμα (stoma), mouth, refers to the lower jaw of the animal "resembling the prow of a wherry".
The
naturalist Richard Lydekker respelled it as Prorastoma with a feminine ending, however this was unjustified as stomus is masculine in Latin.[1]
Prorastomus is one of two
genera of the family Prorastomidae, the other Pezosiren. These two species are the oldest sirenians, dating to the Eocene.[1]
The first specimen was
braincase. Another specimen was found in 1989 in the same formation, USNM 437769, comprising the frontal bone, a tusk, vertebrae fragments, and ribs.[1]
Description
While modern sirenians are fully aquatic, the 1.5-metre (5 ft) Prorastomus was predominantly terrestrial, judging from the structure of its skull. Judging from its crown-shaped
nasal ridge is well developed, indicating it had a good sense of smell. The frontal bones are smaller than usual for sirenians, though, as in other sirenians, it had a pronounced brow ridge.[1] Since Pezosiren has a sagittal crest, it is possible the Prorastomus specimen had one too before being eroded away.[3]
See also
References
- ^ .
- ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
- S2CID 22005691.
- Barry Cox, Colin Harrison, R. J. G. Savage, and Brian Gardiner. (1999): The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures: A Visual Who's Who of Prehistoric Life. Simon & Schuster.
- David Norman. (2001): The Big Book Of Dinosaurs. Pg. 348, Welcome Books.
- Richard Owen. (1855): On the fossil skull of a mammal (Prorastomus sirenoïdes, Owen) from the island of Jamaica. The Quarterly journal of the Geological Society of London, 11, pp. 541–543.
Sirenian genera | |||||||||||
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| Dugongidae |
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