1.74" Fossil Early Ungulate (Dichobune) Jaw - Quercy, France

Dichobune was a primitive hoofed mammal, or ungulate, that had a small body size. It had 5 toes on each foot, each capped with a small hoof. It was a primitive artiodactyl, meaning it is related to modern camels, giraffes, and deer. Dichobune was small, about a foot in length, and was herbivorous, feeding on plants and shrubs.

The Quercy Phosphorites Formation in France is world famous for its Eocene to Miocene faunas, especially those from the upper Eocene to lower Oligocene. The latter particularly helped to understand the ‘Grande Coupure’, a dramatic faunal turnover event that occurred in Europe during the Eocene-Oligocene transition. Fossils from the Quercy Phosphorites were excavated from the middle 19th century until the early 20th century in a series of sites which are no longer accessible. These fossils subsequently became dispersed over several research institutions, while unfortunately often losing the temporal and geographical information in the process. This material is part of an old collection we acquired and presumably was collected along with this material in the 19th or early 20th century. A recently published paper on the mammals of the Quercy Phosphorites can be found below.

The upper Eocene-Oligocene carnivorous mammals from the Quercy Phosphorites (France) housed in Belgian collections