Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
550 / Cenozoic
Coryphodon
Coryphodon eocaenus
A barrel body, short legs and large canines marked one of the first widespread large mammals.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 56–48 million years ago
- Final stage
- Early Eocene
- Geographic range
- River swamp and warm forest · Northern Hemisphere
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Coryphodon?
Coryphodon (Coryphodon eocaenus) was an extinct organism known from About 56–48 million years ago, with a range in River swamp and warm forest · Northern Hemisphere.
Life and ecology
It browsed aquatic plants, leaves and shoots and often waded without being a true hippopotamus.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Coryphodon disappear?
Middle Eocene changes in climate and herbivore faunas are possible context; the fossil record does not establish why the species disappeared.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Coryphodon?
Skulls and skeletons across three continents document distribution; semiaquatic habits remain debated.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS