Dichobune fossil map
Where fossils of Dichobune 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 | 56–27.3 million years ago (Ypresian to Rupelian) |
| Periods | Paleogene |
| Family | Dichobunidae |
| Named by | Cuvier 1822 |
| Fossil records | 76 occurrences at 31 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | France, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Belgium, China, Spain, Germany |
| Rock formations | txn:42324, Bembridge Limestone, Borgloon, Headon Beds, Perriere, Lower Headon Beds |
About Dichobune
Dichobune is the type genus of the Dichobunoidea, an extinct paraphyletic superfamily consisting of some of the earliest artiodactyls known in the fossil record. It was a primitive artiodactyl genus that was endemic to western Europe and lived from the Middle Eocene (or possibly the Early Eocene) to the Early Oligocene. The type species Dichobune leporina was originally described as a species belonging to Anoplotherium beginning in 1804 by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier, who noted its small size. Cuvier assigned it to its own subgenus Dichobune in 1822; later naturalists promoted it to genus rank and observed that it was not close to the Anoplotheriidae as previously thought. Today, there are five valid species within Dichobune.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Dichobune (revision 1379787290), 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: Q63522830.
