Pachyrukhos

Pachyrukhos; Temporal range: Early-Mid Miocene (Colhuehuapian-Friasian); ~21.0–15.5 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Skeleton reconstruction
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	†Notoungulata
Family:	†Hegetotheriidae
Subfamily:	†Pachyrukhinae
Genus:	†Pachyrukhos; Ameghino 1885
Species
	P. absis Ameghino 1889; P. elongatus Moreno 1888; P. moyani Ameghino 1885; P. naevius Ameghino 1889; P. politus Ameghino 1902; P. teres Ameghino 1889; P. trivius Ameghino 1889;
Synonyms
	Pachyrucos; Pedotherium Burmeister 1888;

Pachyrukhos is an extinct genus of hegetotheriid notoungulate from the Early to Middle Miocene (Colhuehuapian-Friasian in the SALMA classification) of Argentina and Chile. Fossils of this genus have been found in the Collón Curá, Sarmiento and Santa Cruz Formations of Argentina and the Río Frías Formation of Chile.^[1]^{[failed verification]}

Description

Life restoration of *Cladosictis lustratus* attacking *Pachyrukhos moyani*

It was about 30 centimetres (0.98 ft) long and closely resembled a rabbit, with a short tail and long hind feet. Pachyrukhos was probably also able to hop, and it had a rabbit-like skull with teeth adapted for eating nuts and tough plants. The complexity of its hearing apparatus in the skull suggests that its hearing would have been very good, and that it probably had large ears. It also had large eyes, suggesting that it may have been nocturnal. These similarities are the result of convergent evolution, since, while quite unrelated to modern rabbits, Pachyrukhos filled the same ecological niche.^[2]

References

^ Pachyrukhos at Fossilworks.org
^ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 251. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.

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[FWPachyrukhos-1] Pachyrukhos at Fossilworks.org

[EoDP-2] Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 251. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.

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