Read the Beforeitsnews.com story here. Advertise at Before It's News here.
Profile image
Story Views
Now:
Last hour:
Last 24 hours:
Total:

Osborn 1902 on former primate Hyopsodus

% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.


The following pulls information from
Osborn 1902 on the still enigmatic ‘tube sheep’, Hyopsodus paulus AMNH 2301 = USNM V17461 (Figs 1, 2), back then (1902) considered a primitive primate.

Figure 1. The skull and skeleton of Hyopsodus compared to Alcidedorbignya. ” data-image-caption=”

Figure 1. The skull and skeleton of Hyopsodus compared to Alcidedorbignya.

” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/hyopsodus_alcidedorbignya588.jpg?w=88″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/hyopsodus_alcidedorbignya588.jpg?w=300″ class=”size-full wp-image-92931″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/hyopsodus_alcidedorbignya588.jpg” alt=”Figure 1. The skull and skeleton of Hyopsodus compared to Alcidedorbignya.” width=”584″ height=”1992″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/hyopsodus_alcidedorbignya588.jpg?w=584&h=1992 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/hyopsodus_alcidedorbignya588.jpg?w=44&h=150 44w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/hyopsodus_alcidedorbignya588.jpg?w=88&h=300 88w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/hyopsodus_alcidedorbignya588.jpg 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />

Figure 1. The skull and skeleton of Hyopsodus compared to Alcidedorbignya.

“Hyopsodus is one of the most abundant and persistent of the Mesodonta (= having medium-sized teeth, a clade no longer recognized), extending from the Wasatch to the Bridger and even into the Uinta. It was first described by Leidy in 1870 from a lower jaw found near Fort Bridger. This is the only Primate with the complete eutherian dentition known, namely : 3143 over 3143 = total 44.”

“The grinding teeth gradually become more complex, homoplastic with those of Ungulates.”

From Wikipedia-Hyopsodus:
“Hyopsodus is a genus of extinct early ungulate mammal of the family Hyopsodontidae, a group associated with or basal to the Perissodactyla.”

From Wikipedia – Hyopsodontidae:
“Hyopsodontidae is an extinct family of primitive mammals, initially assigned to the order Condylarthra, living from the Paleocene to the Eocene in North America and Eurasia.”

“The Hyopsodontidae form a family of small probably insectivorous early mammals the placement of which is uncertain. It is now considered to be early forms of odd-toed ungulates (Perissodactyla) and therefore distantly related to horses, rhinos and tapirs. Hyopsodus is one of the most common genus of the Early Eocene period of North America. The cranial endocast of this animal study by x-ray tomography raises the intriguing possibility that it was capable of echolocation. It probably lived in burrows.”

Figure 3. Ectoconus skull and skeleton compared to Hyopsodus paulus. ” data-image-caption=”

Figure 3. Ectoconus skull and skeleton compared to Hyopsodus paulus.

” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ectoconus-hyopsodus588-1.gif?w=183″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ectoconus-hyopsodus588-1.gif?w=584″ class=”size-full wp-image-94930″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ectoconus-hyopsodus588-1.gif” alt=”Figure 3. Ectoconus skull and skeleton compared to Hyopsodus paulus. ” width=”584″ height=”958″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ectoconus-hyopsodus588-1.gif?w=584&h=958 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ectoconus-hyopsodus588-1.gif?w=91&h=150 91w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ectoconus-hyopsodus588-1.gif?w=183&h=300 183w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ectoconus-hyopsodus588-1.gif 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />

Figure 2. Ectoconus skull and skeleton compared to a much smaller Hyopsodus paulus.

From Wikipedia-Hyopsodus:
“Study of the limbs in H. lepidus has shown these animals were not adapted either for life as underground diggers like moles and groundhogs, or for life in the trees. However, they would have moved quickly on the ground, and could have dug for food or shelter as pigs and bandicoots do.”

Figure 1. The marsupial, Monodelphis domestica, nests as a sister to Eomaia, the oldest known placental. ” data-image-caption=”

Figure 1. The marsupial, Monodelphis domestica, nests as a sister to Eomaia, the oldest known placental.

” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/monodelphis_domestica1.jpg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/monodelphis_domestica1.jpg?w=584″ class=”size-full wp-image-23536″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/monodelphis_domestica1.jpg” alt=”Figure 1. The marsupial, Monodelphis domestica, nests as a sister to Eomaia, the oldest known placental.” width=”584″ height=”479″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/monodelphis_domestica1.jpg?w=584&h=479 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/monodelphis_domestica1.jpg?w=150&h=123 150w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/monodelphis_domestica1.jpg?w=300&h=246 300w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/monodelphis_domestica1.jpg 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />

Figure 3. The marsupial, Monodelphis domestica, nests as a sister to Eomaia, the oldest known placental.

Figure 4. Skull of Monodelphis domestica in 4 views. Compare to Hyopsodus in figures 1–3. ” data-image-caption=”

Figure 4. Skull of Monodelphis domestica in 4 views. Compare to Hyopsodus in figures 1–3.

” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/monodelphis_domestica-skull2.jpg?w=296″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/monodelphis_domestica-skull2.jpg?w=584″ class=”size-full wp-image-94944″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/monodelphis_domestica-skull2.jpg” alt=”Figure 4. Skull of Monodelphis domestica in 4 views. Compare to Hyopsodus in figures 1–3.” width=”584″ height=”592″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/monodelphis_domestica-skull2.jpg?w=584&h=592 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/monodelphis_domestica-skull2.jpg?w=148&h=150 148w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/monodelphis_domestica-skull2.jpg?w=296&h=300 296w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/monodelphis_domestica-skull2.jpg 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />

Figure 4. Skull of Monodelphis domestica in 4 views. Compare to Hyopsodus in figures 1–3.

Presently in the LRT
Hyopsodus nests with the much larger primitive pantodont, Ectoconus (Fig 2). In the LRT these taxa are basal to living elephants and sloths plus a long list of bulky extinct mammalian herbivores. Presently the LRT cannot tell us whether these were placentals or pouchless marsupials because…

Proximal outgroup taxa include the living small opossum without a pouch, Monodelphis domestica (Figs 3, 4), from South America.

References
Gazin CL 1968. A study of the Eocene condylarthran mammal Hyopsodus.
Orliac MJ, Argot C and Gilissen E 2012. Digital cranial endocast of Hyopsodus (Mammalia,“Condylarthra”): a case of Paleogene terrestrial echolocation?. PLoS One, 7(2), e30000.
Osborn HF 1902. Article 2. Lower, Middle, and upper Eocene primates. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 16:176–214.

wiki/Hyopsodus
wiki/Hyopsodontidae
wiki/Condylarthra


Source: https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/2025/10/18/osborn-1902-on-former-primate-hyopsodus/


Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world.

Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.

"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.

Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world. Anyone can join. Anyone can contribute. Anyone can become informed about their world. "United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.


LION'S MANE PRODUCT


Try Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend 60 Capsules


Mushrooms are having a moment. One fabulous fungus in particular, lion’s mane, may help improve memory, depression and anxiety symptoms. They are also an excellent source of nutrients that show promise as a therapy for dementia, and other neurodegenerative diseases. If you’re living with anxiety or depression, you may be curious about all the therapy options out there — including the natural ones.Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend has been formulated to utilize the potency of Lion’s mane but also include the benefits of four other Highly Beneficial Mushrooms. Synergistically, they work together to Build your health through improving cognitive function and immunity regardless of your age. Our Nootropic not only improves your Cognitive Function and Activates your Immune System, but it benefits growth of Essential Gut Flora, further enhancing your Vitality.



Our Formula includes: Lion’s Mane Mushrooms which Increase Brain Power through nerve growth, lessen anxiety, reduce depression, and improve concentration. Its an excellent adaptogen, promotes sleep and improves immunity. Shiitake Mushrooms which Fight cancer cells and infectious disease, boost the immune system, promotes brain function, and serves as a source of B vitamins. Maitake Mushrooms which regulate blood sugar levels of diabetics, reduce hypertension and boosts the immune system. Reishi Mushrooms which Fight inflammation, liver disease, fatigue, tumor growth and cancer. They Improve skin disorders and soothes digestive problems, stomach ulcers and leaky gut syndrome. Chaga Mushrooms which have anti-aging effects, boost immune function, improve stamina and athletic performance, even act as a natural aphrodisiac, fighting diabetes and improving liver function. Try Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend 60 Capsules Today. Be 100% Satisfied or Receive a Full Money Back Guarantee. Order Yours Today by Following This Link.


Report abuse

Comments

Your Comments
Question   Razz  Sad   Evil  Exclaim  Smile  Redface  Biggrin  Surprised  Eek   Confused   Cool  LOL   Mad   Twisted  Rolleyes   Wink  Idea  Arrow  Neutral  Cry   Mr. Green

MOST RECENT
Load more ...

SignUp

Login