Merycochoerus
extinct genus of mammals
Merycochoerus (Greek: "ruminant" (merux)-like "swine" (khoiros)) is an extinct genus of oreodont of the family Merycoidodontidae, endemic to North America. They lived during the Early Oligocene 33.9—30.8 mya, existing for approximately 3 million years. Fossils are widespread through the western United States.
Merycochoerus was a cud-chewing plant-eater with a long face, tusk-like canine teeth, heavy body, long tail, short feet, and four-toed hooves. The 1 metre (3.3 ft) long animals are thought to have been amphibious, as members of the genus possessed an elongated, barrel-shaped body and short limbs that are typical adaptations found in semi-aquatic mammals.
Species
M. carrikeri (syn. Promerycochoerus thomsoni)
M. chelydra (syn. Promerycochoerus barbouri)
M. magnus
M. matthewi
M. pinensis
M. proprius
M. superbus (syn.
“Merycochoerus” enters the record as extinct genus of mammals. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Merycochoerus, extinct and genus can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6820973. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Merycochoerus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.