Brychotherium fossil map
Where fossils of Brychotherium have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 30 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 30 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 33.9–27.3 million years ago (Rupelian) |
| Periods | Paleogene |
| Named by | Holroyd 1994 |
| Fossil records | 2 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Egypt |
| Rock formations | Jebel Qatrani |
About Brychotherium
Brychotherium (meaning "greedily eating beast") is an extinct genus of teratodontid hyaenodonts, a group of predatory pan-carnivoran mammals. The order name hyenadont comes from their hyena-like dentition, which refers to their carnassial-like slicing teeth and not to the bone-crushing dentition of modern spotted and brown hyenas. The family name Teratodontidae means "monstrous teeth", referring to their typically large and hypercarnivorous dentition. The genus is dated to the late Eocene, about 34 million years ago in Egypt and contains a single described species, Brychotherium ephalmos (species name meaning "pickled in brine"), named after the saline preservation conditions of the sediments in which it was found. Fossils of B. ephalmos were discovered at Locality 41 (L-41), in the Jebel Qatrani Formation of the Fayum Depression, and the genus was formally described in 2016, with B. ephalmos designated as the type species.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Brychotherium (revision 1380526427), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q51077164.
