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Ticholeptus

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Ticholeptus
Temporal range: Middle Miocene
Ticholeptus petersoni
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Placentalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Merycoidodontidae
Genus: Ticholeptus
Cope 1878
Species

Ticholeptus zygomaticus

Ticholeptus is an extinct genus of oreodont endemic to North America during the Middle Miocene subepoch (16.0—13.6 mya), existing for approximately 2.4 million years.[1] Fossils have been uncovered throughout the United States from Florida to Oregon, as well as California, and numerous sites in Nebraska, Nevada, and Montana.

Palaeoecology

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The dental mesowear of Ticholeptus shows that it was a mixed feeder or grazer and that it had one of the most texturally abrasive diets of any oreodont taxon.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Ticholeptus at fossilworks
  2. ^ Mihlbachler, Matthew C.; Solounias, Nikos (18 March 2006). "Coevolution of Tooth Crown Height and Diet in Oreodonts (Merycoidodontidae, Artiodactyla) Examined with Phylogenetically Independent Contrasts". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 13 (1): 11–36. doi:10.1007/s10914-005-9001-3. ISSN 1064-7554. Retrieved 20 September 2025 – via Springer Nature Link.