Kingdom Animalia Family Numidotheriidae Rank Genus | Class Mammalia Phylum Chordata Order Proboscidea | |
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Similar Proboscidea, Phosphatherium, Barytherium, Daouitherium, Moeritherium | ||
Numidotherium ("Numidia beast") is an extinct genus of early proboscidean, discovered in 1984, that lived during the middle Eocene of North Africa some 46 million years ago. It was about 90-100 centimetres tall at the shoulder and weighed about 250-300 kilograms.
The type species, N. koholense, is known from an almost complete skeleton from the site of El Kohol, southern Algeria, dating from the early/middle Eocene period. The animal had the size and the appearance of a modern tapir. In appearance, it was more slender and more plantigrade than an elephant, its closest modern relative.
A new species, N. savagei was discovered in 1995 in late Eocene deposits at Dor el Talha, Libya, together with another primitive proboscidean, Barytherium grave. N. savagei may be a synonym of N. koholense.