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The finger to hoof transition 3x in the LRT

Sunday, July 19, 2026 21:57

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Following in the wake of
the basalmost primates, represented in the LRT by the giant lemur, Megaladapis (Figs 1, 3), hoofed mammals (= ungulates) retaining thumbs began their radiation with these three major clades:

1. Slender terrestrial artiodactyls,
like pigs, camels, deer and cattle (Fig 1) beginning with Bothriodon = Ancodus;

Figure 1. Ancodus brachyrhynchus (= Elomeryx armatus or Hyopotamus armatus = Bothriodon) nests as an ancestor to Sus and other slender hooved artiodactyls. The thumb was slender. Note the canines are located at the narrowest part of the rostrum, not the widest as is more typical.

2. Heavy-set aquatic artidactyls,
like creodonts, like Merycoidodon, and hippos (Fig 2) and

Figure 2. Merycoidodon skeleton. This semi-aquatic taxon was basal to hippos which evolved through desmostylans into baleen whales = mysticetes. Note the small thumbs on their way out.

3: Notoungulates + liptoterns
plus chalicotheres + brontotheres
plus uintatheres + astrapotheres and elephants.
These three clades and their subclades are all derived from a heavy-set South American artiodactyl with large-hoofed thumbs, Periphragnis (Fig 3), itself considered a notoungulate.

Figure 3. The finger to hoof transition in the LRT begins with the primate Megaladapis, moves through Periphragnis and continues through Phenacodus. Also see figures 1 and 2.

Agriochoerus latifrons,
the ‘artiodactyl with thumbs’ also deserves mention. This quadruped (Figs 4, 5) had claws rather than hooves. So did chalicotheres, an ingroup clade.

Figure 4. Skeletons of Lophiodon and Agriochoerus latifrons. Note the vestigial manual digit 1 on Agriochoerus, missing in Lophiodon, which nests close to Ancodus (Fig 1) in the LRT.

Figure 5. Manus and pes of Nasua, Notharctus and Agriochoerus latifrons compared. Nasua is the coatimundi, a raccoon relative and basal member of the Carnivora. Notharctus is a basal primate close to Megaladapis (Fig 3). Note the lengthening of the metacarpals and metatarsals relative to the digits.

Middle Miocene Homalodotherium
a basal notoungulate (Fig 6), had claws and was also basal to chalicotheres + elephants.

Figure 8. Liike Agriochoerus latifrons, Homalodotherium still had claws. It was basal to chalicotheres + elephants and also basal to notoungulates including the living hyrax, Procavia.

This appears to be a novel hypothesis of interrelationships.
If not, please provide a citation so I can promote it here.

References
wiki/Artiodactyla
wiki/Ungulate
wiki/Periphragnis

Source: https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/2026/07/20/the-finger-to-hoof-transition-3x-in-the-lrt/

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