A side-on snapshot of the skull of Megacerops, a #brontothere (‘thunder beast’) from North America for this #FossilFriday. Sporting large bulbous horns, these large, ancient mammals looked a bit like rhinos 🦏 but are actually more closely related to horses 🐎.
#Paleontology #Science #Cenozoic
🧵1/ #Megacerops likely stood up to 8 ft tall at the shoulders, making it one of the largest herbivores of its time. It lived ~38-33 million years ago during the #Eocene epoch - a time when mammals were really coming into their own and diversifying.
2/ #Brontotheres were among the first really big mammals to evolve, occupying large browser niches 🍃 in forest environments 🌳 Consequently, they diversified during the #Eocene when very warm climates & forest habitats prevailed ☀️
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