Anoplotherium is the type genus of the extinct Palaeogene artiodactyl family Anoplotheriidae, which was endemic to western Europe. It lived from the late Eocene to the earliest Oligocene. It was the fifth fossil mammal genus to be described with official taxonomic authority, with a history extending back to 1804 when its fossils from Montmartre in Paris, France were first described by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier. Discoveries of incomplete skeletons of A. commune in 1807 led Cuvier to thoroughly describe unusual features for which there are no modern analogues. His drawn skeletal and muscle reconstructions of A. commune in 1812 were amongst the first instances of anatomical reconstructions based on fossil evidence. Cuvier's contributions to palaeontology based on his works on the genus were revolutionary for the field, not only proving the developing ideas of extinction and ecological succession but also paving the way for subfields such as palaeoneurology. Today, there are four known species.
Anoplotherium
Anoplotherium commune skull, National Museum of Natural History, France
Sculptures of an Anoplotherium commune herd as part of the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs sculptures on the Tertiary Island of the Crystal Palace Park, United Kingdom
Illustrations of Anoplotherium (foreground left), Xiphodon (background left), and Palaeotherium (right) in the 1910 book Extinct Monsters and Creatures of Other Days
Anoplotheriidae is an extinct family of artiodactyl ungulates. They were endemic to Europe during the Eocene and Oligocene epochs about 44—30 million years ago. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek: ἂνοπλος ("unarmed") and θήριον ("beast"), translating as "unarmed beast".
Skull of Anoplotherium commune, showing the unspecified dentition