Uintatherium anceps

This placental herbivore, about the size of a rhinoceros, belonged to an extinct group whose relationships with modern mammals remain unresolved. Its skull is characterised by three pairs of horns, the smallest of which are the nasal horns located just above the nostrils. The volume of the brain was also quite small relative to its body size.

Its upper jaw held long, sharp canines which are more prominent in larger individuals probably indicating sexual dimorphism (this is still observed in certain ruminants such as the musk deer). It was a species with graviportal limbs (i.e. they have evolved to carry weight) like those of many large animals such as the elephant for example. For the moment Uintatherium is only known in North America and Asia.

Its name comes from the Uintah, a subgroup of the Ute Amerindian tribe who lived in the north east of Utah.

The Gallery’s only papier maché piece, this mounted cast was initially put on display by Albert Gaudry in the provisional Palaeontology museum destined to house the first collection of fossils exhibited to the public. 

The Uintatherium reconstruction was carried out by Professor Othniel Charles Marsh on the basis of pieces from the Middle Eocene of Wyoming, to the west of the Rockies, and belonging to the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven, Connecticut.

Donated by Professor Marsh.