Lophiodon fossil map
Where fossils of Lophiodon have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 45 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 45 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 | 56–33.9 million years ago (Ypresian to Priabonian) |
| Periods | Paleogene |
| Family | Lophiodontidae |
| Named by | Cuvier 1822 |
| Fossil records | 182 occurrences at 43 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, United Kingdom |
| Rock formations | txn:43126, Castrais, Sables du Castrais, Corrales, Entrala, Eifel |
About Lophiodon
Lophiodon is an extinct genus of perissodactyls and the type genus of the Lophiodontidae, one of two major clades of the extinct suborder Ancylopoda. It, like the rest of the family, was endemic to western Europe and lived from the Early to Middle Eocene. Fossils of Lophiodon were first studied in 1804 when the French palaeontologist Georges Cuvier thought that they belonged to tapirs. After initially classifying the formally recognized species to Palaeotherium in 1812, Cuvier named the genus in 1822 based on the hill-like cusps on its molars. Many fossil species were named and assigned to Lophiodon throughout the 19th century but were reassigned to various other mammals including other members of the Lophiodontidae. There are fifteen species currently assigned to Lophiodon, one of questionable taxonomic status and one other pending a possible reassignment to another genus.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Lophiodon (revision 1381070252), 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: Q2532431.
