Tylocephalonyx

Name: Tylocephalonyx ‭(‬Knob head claw‭)‬.
Phonetic: Ty-loe-sef-a-lon-ix.
Named By: M.‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Coombs‭ ‬-‭ ‬1979.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Perissodactyla,‭ ‬Chalicotherioidea,‭ ‬Chalicotheriidae,‭ ‬Schizotheriinae.
Species: T.‭ ‬skinneri‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Exact details unavailable.
Known locations: USA.
Time period: Miocene.
Fossil representation: Many specimens.

       Tylocephalonyx is noted for being one of the dome headed chalicotheres due to the enlarged cranial dome of the skull which is the reason‭ ‬for the first two parts of the name which mean‭ ‘‬knob head‭’‬.‭ ‬The rear part of the name is a reference to the claws on the hands that were most probably used for hooking around branches so that Tylocephalonyx could pull them down to it mouth.‭ ‬The dome of the head has been speculated to have been for use in dominance contests where to rivals may have tried to headbutt one another into submission.

Further reading
- Tylocephalonyx, a new genus of North American dome-skulled chalicotheres (Mammalia, Perissodactyla). - Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 164(1):1-64. - M. C. Coombs - 1979.



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