Protitanops


Protitanops is an extinct genus of brontotheriid odd-toed ungulate that lived during the Eocene in North America.

Distribution

The genus is best known from the Western [United States], especially in Death Valley, California, where the best specimens of the type species P. curryi have been found. The species is also known from fossils found in Texas and Chihuahua in the region in and around Big [Bend National Park].

Description

Protitanops bore a strong resemblance to brontotheres in the genus Megacerops due to its knob-shaped horns. However, the position of the horns differed in Protitanops, in that they pointed straight up, rather than more forwards like in Megacerops.