Answer Monday!

Last week on Fossil Friday, I gave you a giant jaw to contemplate. Many of the scientists in our office thought for sure it was of reptile origin, but in fact it came from an Eocene mammal!

What kind of mammal could have such a ghastly jaw line? It was from the genus Protitanops, found in what is now Oregon. It sort of looks like a modern day rhinocerous. Yikes! Check out this picture to see what the Protitanops looked like.

I couldn't find much information about this genus, so if you have more details about this critter, add them to the comments below!

So who correctly identified this monsterous mammal? There were a bunch of good guesses (my favorite being the Entelodont aka "terminator pig"), but no correct answers.

Better luck next time!

Minda Berbeco
Short Bio

Minda Berbeco is the former Programs and Policy Director at NCSE.