Amphimerycidae is an extinct family of artiodactyls that was endemic to western Europe and lived from the Middle Eocene to the Early Oligocene. With a taxonomic history extending as far back as 1804,
lossy page 1 Amphimeryx murinus Montmatre Paris France.tif
Drawing of a mandible of "Anoplotherium murinum" (= Amphimeryx murinus), 1822)
Because of some similar anatomical traits of the amphimerycids to those of ruminants (like the Java mouse-deer (Tragulus javanicus), pictured), they were previously considered ruminants by biologists. Today, their evolutionary relationship to ruminants and other artiodactyls proves unclear.
Pseudamphimeryx renevieri mandible, Natural History Museum of Basel
Mixtotherium is an extinct genus of Palaeogene artiodactyls belonging to the monotypic family Mixtotheriidae. Known informally as mixtotheriids or mixtotheres, these artiodactyls were endemic to weste
Amphimerycidae
…dentition. Its affinities, along with those of other endemic European artiodactyls, are unclear; the Amphimerycidae, Anoplotheriidae, Xiphodontidae, Mixtotheriidae, and Cainotheriidae have been determined to be close to either tylopods (i.e. camelids and merycoidodonts) or ruminants. Different phylogenetic analyses…
Mixtotherium priscum skull
The Mixtotheriidae is thought to be closely related to the Cainotheriidae, including Cainotherium (skeleton at Natural History Museum of Basel)
Rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) skull, National Museum of Natural History. The mandibular rami of hyraxes are wide similar to those of Mixtotherium.
M. priscum mandible, Natural History Museum of Basel