Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
499 / Cenozoic
Metamynodon
Metamynodon planifrons
Short legs, a broad body and high-set eyes adapted a hornless rhinoceros relative to semiaquatic life.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 34–23 million years ago
- Final stage
- End of the Oligocene
- Geographic range
- River wetland and floodplain · North America
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Metamynodon?
Metamynodon (Metamynodon planifrons) was an extinct organism known from About 34–23 million years ago, with a range in River wetland and floodplain · North America.
Life and ecology
It moved along banks and shallows and browsed aquatic plants and soft foliage.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Metamynodon disappear?
Late Oligocene drying and shrinking wetlands likely reduced its habitat; a specific cause is not established.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Metamynodon?
Skulls, teeth and limb bones show rhinoceros affinity and semiaquatic adaptation.
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