5.2" Brontothere Fossil Knee Bone Eocene Age Badlands S Dakota Titanothere COA

Location: White River Badlands, South Dakota

Weight: 1 Pound 8 Ounces

Dimensions: 5.2 Inches Long, 3.2 Inches Wide, 2.7 Inches Thick (Matrix)

Eocene Age, 56 to 33.9 million years Old.

Comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.

The item pictured is the one you will receive. 

Brontotheres were giant mammals that roamed the region now known as Badlands National Park roughly 56 to 33.9 million years ago. Scientifically referred to as Megacerops coloradensis, these animals are sometimes called “titanotheres,” which means “thunder beast.” This name reflects the imagined sound of a herd of these massive creatures moving across prehistoric landscapes, thundering through the ancient environment.

Brontotheres found in the Badlands would have measured around 8 feet tall and 16 feet long, the size of a large rhino or small elephant today, but brontotheres began as only dog-sized animals in the early Eocene epoch. Over the next 20 million years of the Eocene, brontotheres became larger as they evolved and diversified. By the late Eocene, brontotheres reached the massive size we see in Badlands fossil brontotheres today.

Brontotheres are usually known for the blunt paired horns that stuck out from their noses. These horns developed from small nubs into the giant horns that stretch over 3.3 feet (1 meter) long in Badlands brontotheres. Horns tend to be larger in males and smaller in females. Although these horns usually inspire thoughts of rhinos, brontotheres are related to modern rhinos. Even so, Badlands fossils include animals like Subhyracodon, which are true ancestors of the modern rhinomembers of rhino family.