Re: Is this a Dinosaur?

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <th81@umail.umd.edu>]

At 05:23 PM 9/23/98 -0500, Jim Wyatt wrote:
>Hello everyone,
>
>I recently received an inquiry about a dinosaur that the person called
"Telocerof".
>After searching all my resources I have come up with nothing even close.
Can anyone shed light on what this might be?
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Jim Wyatt
>docpaleo@gte.net 

Perhaps they meant _Teleoceras_, which is an interesting fossil animal, but
not a dinosaur.  It is a very common rhinoceratid from the mid-to-late
Miocene of North America.  It was short, squat, and shaped like a hippo.  It
had high-crowned teeth, indicating it was a grazer.

Almost any book on fossil mammals (particularly of North America) should
have some more info on this rhino.  It is also featured in some papers and
texts on evolutionary models and heterochrony, as its short, squat legs
resemble those produced by achondroplasty ("dwarfism" by shortening of the
long bones).

Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Vertebrate Paleontologist     Webpage: http://www.geol.umd.edu
Dept. of Geology              Email:tholtz@geol.umd.edu
University of Maryland        Phone:301-405-4084
College Park, MD  20742       Fax:  301-314-9661