#chalicothere

Another Carnivores: Neogene Steppe thing

Ancylotherium

(Clawed Horse)

Dangerous if disturbed

Meet the Chalicotherium, one of the most evolutionary marvels and bizarre creatures to ever walk the Earth!

This large Miocene-era mammal resembled a surreal blend of a horse, a gorilla, and a giant ground sloth. Unlike any modern hoofed mammal, it walked on its knuckles to protect its enormous, curved claws, which it likely used to strip leaves and branches from trees—making it a gentle herbivore despite its intimidating appearance. Despite being closely related to horses and rhinos (perissodactyls), Chalicotherium is often called the “clawed horse” and is a classic example of how evolution can produce wildly unexpected forms from familiar lineages.

Chalicotherium.

Image taken from the book: The Rise Of The Mammals, by Dr. Michael Benton, 1991.

Moropus distans, a species of chalicothere from Miocene North America.

It was about 3 m. long and stood 2.4 m. tall at the shoulder. They are related to modern day horses, rhinos and tapirs.

Chalicotheriidae by Mario Lanzas

Moropus (meaning "slow foot")

Moropus is an extinct genus of large perissodactyl ("odd-toed" ungulate) mammal in the chalicothere family. They were endemic to North America during the Miocene from ~20.4–13.6 Mya, existing for approximately 6.8 million years.  Moropus belonged to the schizotheriine subfamily of chalicotheres, and has the best fossil record of any member of this group; numbers of individuals, including complete skeletons, have been found. The closest extant relatives of Moropus are other perissodactyls:  horses, rhinos, and tapirs...

(Image description: sketchbook art of a centaur sitting on his hindquarters. He has similar physical features to a chalicothere, including three toed feet. His front legs look like arms, having their feet flat on the ground to rest. His true arms are folded, with one hand on his chin in a thoughtful manner. He is wearing draped layers of cloth with harnesses to fasten them around his body. End description)

When standing and walking, my chalicothere centaurs use the tips of their toes, on both the back and front legs. But when they sit or lay down, the arm-like shape of their front legs becomes much more apparent, as they can still move their front feet in a similar manner to their true hands.

This is because they're all oddly consistent chimeric twins, and the extra set of limbs as well as the double ribcage actually come from the absorbed twin.