Ancylotherium (from Greek, meaning "hooked beast") is an extinct genus of the family Chalicotheriidae, subfamily Schizotheriinae, endemic to Europe, Asia, and Africa during the Late Miocene-Pliocene (9.0—1.8 mya), existing for approximately 7.2 million years.
Taxonomy[]
Ancylotherium was named by Gaudry (1863) and was assigned to Chalicotheriidae by Carroll (1988); and to Schizotheriinae by Geraads et al. (2007).
Description[]
At two meters high at the shoulder and a weight of nearly 500 kg, Ancylotherium was relatively large, and was built rather like a goat. Like other chalicotheres, it had long forelimbs and short hind limbs. However, unlike most other chalicotheres, it did not walk on its knuckles. It was similar to the North American genus Moropus.