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Glite Dictionary
Uintatheriidae

Uintatheriidae

9.9
A family of large plant-eating mammals that lived in the Eocene
  • noun
  • /juːˈɪntəˌhɛriˌaɪdi/
  • Specialized
: uintatheriidae
  • Members of the Uintatheriidae were notable for their large size and distinct cranial projections.

Examples

  • Fossils of the Uintatheriidae have been discovered across North America and Asia.

  • The extinction of the Uintatheriidae marked the end of a unique branch of early mammalian evolution.

  • The Uintatheriidae were fascinating creatures of the Eocene epoch.

  • Did you know that the Uintatheriidae were herbivorous mammals?

  • Fossils of the Uintatheriidae have been discovered across North America and Asia.

  • Members of the Uintatheriidae were notable for their large size and distinct cranial projections.

  • The extinction of the Uintatheriidae marked the end of a unique branch of early mammalian evolution.

Surface Forms

Uintatheriidae singular
Uintatheriidaes plural

Morphology

Uintatheriidae = Uintatherium (opaque) = Uintatherium + idae

Formed by a specialized scientific family suffix '-idae' attached to a Latinized genus name; this taxonomic formation is unlikely to be transparent to average learners.

Etymology

Uintatheriidae comes from the genus Uintatherium plus the scientific ending -idae, which means 'family'. Uintatherium joins the place name Uinta, a region in North America, with the Greek root therion, meaning 'beast', so it literally means 'Uinta beast'. So, Uintatheriidae is the 'family' of those large, beast-like, plant-eating mammals that lived long ago.