Uintatherium: Prehistoric Beast on Display
Uintatherium, “Uinta Beast,” was named by Leidy in 1872. It is a member of an extinct group of rhino-sized (13’ long, 2 tons) herbivores with saber teeth that roamed the western US and Asia 40-50 mya in the #Eocene.
The massive size, thick neck, and huge head generated stunning puncture power. Only another #Uintatherium could withstand such a gigantic blow and live. It seems only the males had such gigantic blades, likely using them and the 6 “horns” to compete for territory and mates.
The 6 ossicones on the top of the head are akin to a giraffe’s “horns” and were likely fur-covered. They technically aren’t horns.
Naming Nightmare!
In 1871 Marsh named #Titanotherium? anceps. Yep, he vacillated with that question mark, a first!
In 1872, he renamed it #Mastodon anceps and, in the same paper, had an addendum, #Tinoceras anceps.
In 1872, 18 days before Marsh published Tinoceras, Leidy named Uintatherium robustum, which thus has precedence over Tinoceras. But why isn’t robustum the species?
In 1872 Leidy named #Uintamastix atrox based on a “very formidable canine.” When he saw Marsh’s #Dinoceras mirabile he realized he was erroneous and had found a Uintatherium canine.
Cope then got into the mix, naming ~28 species…
Opinion 164 of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature said while Leidy and Marsh both named the same taxon with different names, Marsh used a ? when he first named the genus and Leidy didn’t, so the Leidy genus “wins,” but because Marsh didn’t use a ? on the species it was still the “first” species-name-wise, so it “wins.”
Thus, we combine the two and give Leidy the genus credit, but Marsh gets the species, and forevermore when writing Uintatherium robustum (Leidy) it gets parentheses around his name which means he didn’t provide both parts of the species name. Linnaean taxonomy uses a binomial, “two-name,” system: a genus name and a trivial name, and both are required to have a species. There is an entire discipline devoted to naming animals.
Should your museum (or home) desire a very cool mammal skull cast, we sell life-sized casts of this majestic beast.
Display @ Prehistoric Museum in Price, Utah.
#FossilCrates #MammalMonday