CORYPHODON

genus of extinct primitive hoofed mammals known from Late Paleocene and Early Eocene deposits (those that date from about 63.5 to 52 million years ago) in North America and Early Eocene deposits in Europe and eastern Asia (the Paleocene epoch, which preceded the Eocene epoch, ended about 54,000,000 years ago). Coryphodon, representative of an archaic group, the pantodonts, was a clumsily built animal about as large as a modern tapir. The skeleton was heavy and the limbs strongly constructed to support the animal's bulk. The feet were broad and had five toes. The skull was broad and relatively flat; no horns or other protuberances were present, except in the back or occipital region, where powerful neck muscles were attached. Coryphodon had large upper canines; the presence of 44 teeth represents the primitive mammalian condition. Coryphodon was not a swift animal; it probably was a browser, feeding much like the modern tapirs.