Metaxytherium fossil map
Where fossils of Metaxytherium have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 15 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 15 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 | 33.9–2.58 million years ago (Rupelian to Piacenzian) |
| Periods | Paleogene, Neogene |
| Family | Dugongidae |
| Named by | de Christol 1840 |
| Fossil records | 486 occurrences at 195 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Italy, United States, Austria, France, Libya, Greece, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Portugal … |
| Rock formations | txn:43286, Burgeschleinitz, Calvert, Sahabi, Peace River, Leitha |
About Metaxytherium
Metaxytherium is an extinct genus of dugong that lived from the Oligocene until the end of the Pliocene. Fossil remains have been found in Africa, Europe, North America and South America. Generally marine seagrass specialists, they inhabited the warm and shallow waters of the Paratethys, Mediterranean, Caribbean Sea and Pacific coastline. American species of Metaxytherium are considered to be ancestral to the North Pacific family Hydrodamalinae, which includes the giant Steller's sea cow.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Metaxytherium (revision 1365541817), 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: Q2723592.
