Osteology of the Middle Eocene Ceratomorph Hyrachyus modestus (Mammalia, Perissodactyla)

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The middle Eocene ceratomorph Hyrachyus has been considered a pivotal genus in ceratomorph evolution, either as a transitional form from tapiroids to rhinocerotoids, giving rise to all later rhinocerotoids, or else as the sister taxon to other rhinocerotoids. Thus, Hyrachyus has been commonly chosen as an outgroup in phylogenetic analyses of rhinocerotoids. However, little has been published on the osteology of Hyrachyus, even though well-preserved craniodental and postcranial specimens of this taxon have been in collections for decades. Here, the authors describe and illustrate the cranial and postcranial osteology of Hyrachyus modestus, based mainly on the exceptionally preserved specimens housed at the American Museum of Natural History. The bone-by-bone description provides detailed information on the osteological morphology of Hyrachyus, which should be useful for phylogenetic analyses of both rhinocerotoids and perissodactyls in general, because it provides one of the more complete and best-preserved examples of the skeleton of an earlier Eocene perissodactyl.

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