Platygonus

Name: Platygonus ‭(‬Flat head‭)‬.
Phonetic: Plat-e-gon-us.
Named By: Le Conte‭ ‬-‭ ‬1848.
Synonyms: Euchoerus,‭ ‬Hyops and Protochoerus.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Artiodactyla,‭ ‬Tayassuidae.
Species: P.‭ ‬compressus‭ (‬type‭)‬,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬bicalcaratus,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬brachirostris,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬intermedius,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬oregonensis,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬pearcei,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬vetus.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Up to‭ ‬1‭ ‬meter long.
Known locations: Mostly known from across the United States.‭ ‬Fossils also reported from Argentina,‭ ‬Canada,‭ ‬Mexico and Uruguay.
Time period: Tortonian of the Miocene through to the Holocene.
Fossil representation: Many individuals.

       Platygonus is an extinct genus of peccary,‭ ‬a kind of artiodactyl mammal that is similar to a pig in physical appearance and ecological niche,‭ ‬yet is of a completely separate family.‭ ‬With larger Platygonus approaching one meter in length,‭ ‬they were quite a bit larger than modern peccaries.‭ ‬Platygonus may have been hunted by wolves and machairodont sabre-toothed cats such as Smilodon and Xenosmilus.

Further reading
-‭ ‬Estimating the body mass of extinct ungulates:‭ ‬a study on the use of multiple regression‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Zoology‭ ‬270‭ (‬1‭)‬:‭ ‬90‭–‬101.‭ ‬-‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Mendoza,‭ ‬C.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Janis‭ & ‬P.‭ ‬Palmqvist‭ ‬-‭ ‬2006.



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