Dinocerates

Dinocerates is an extinct order of ungulate mammals that lived during the Paleocene and Eocene epochs. These animals are characterized by their large size and the presence of one or more pairs of tusks projecting from the upper jaw. The most famous members of this group are the uintatheres, such as Uintatherium, which possessed a prominent cranial ornamentation of bony bosses and a pair of large, saber-like canine tusks.

The fossil record of Dinocerates is primarily found in North America and Asia. While generally large, the size of dinocerate species varied considerably. Their diets are believed to have been herbivorous, based on dental morphology. The exact evolutionary relationships of Dinocerates to other mammal groups have been a subject of debate, but they are generally considered to be an early offshoot of the ungulates, possibly related to the ancestors of modern perissodactyls (odd-toed ungulates) or even artiodactyls (even-toed ungulates). The group ultimately went extinct by the end of the Eocene, likely due to competition with more advanced ungulate groups or significant environmental changes.