Kalimantsia
Name:
Kalimantsia
(After the village of Kalimantsi where the holotype remains were
found.).
Phonetic: Ka-le-mant-se-ah.
Named By: Denis Geraads, Nikolai Spassov
& Dimitar Kovachev - 2001.
Classification: Chordata, Mammalia,
Perissodactyla, Chalicotheriidae.
Species: K. bulgarica
(type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Uncertain but estimated around 3 meters
long.
Known locations: Bulgaria.
Time period: Late Miocene.
Fossil representation: Skull.
Discovered
in 1972 by Dimitar Kovachev, Kalimantsia did
not get named until
2001. Although based upon the description of a skull, Kalimantsia
is known to have had a shorter snout than many other known
chalicotheres, something that might suggest a foraging specialisation
in tougher types of vegetation that required a stronger bite (an
ability provided by the shorter muzzle allowing the jaw closing muscles
to focus upon a smaller area). If correct then Kalimantsia
might
have been analogous to the short faced prehistoric kangaroos of
Australia such as Procoptodon
in terms of ecological niche.
The
most striking feature of Kalimantsia is the high
domed skull.
This is quite unusual for a chalicothere when you consider that most
of the known genera had heads proportioned similar to those of horses.
This dome has been speculated to not only be for display but for use
in head butting or pushing contests between two rival Kalimantsia.
Another dome headed chalicothere is Tylocephalonyx
from North America.
Further reading
- New Chalicotheriidae (Perissodactyla, Mammalia) from the Late Miocene
of Bulgaria. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 21(3):596-606. -
Denis Geraads, Spassov Nikolay & Dimitar Kovachev - 2001.
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