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Protitanops

Protitanops ( , in reference to Titanops ) is an extinct genus of horned brontothere that lived in North America during the Late Eocene, in the Duchesnean land mammal age. The genus contains a single species, P. curryi, known from fossils found in California, Texas, and Chihuahua. Protitanops was a large and heavy animal, estimated to have stood about tall at the shoulder and to have weighed over two tonnes. The skull was broad and saddle-shaped, with large zygomatic arches, fused facial bones, and short and bulbous, knob-like horns. Protitanops was broadly similar to the better known Megacerops, but distinguished by its smaller size, smaller horns, and retention of several primitive features, such as its smaller incisors and canines, and the somewhat flattened upper surface of its skull.

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Article summary

Protitanops ( , in reference to Titanops ) is an extinct genus of horned brontothere that lived in North America during the Late Eocene, in the Duchesnean land mammal age. The genus contains a single species, P. curryi, known from fossils found in California, Texas, and Chihuahua. Protitanops was a large and heavy animal, estimated to have stood about tall at the shoulder and to have weighed over two tonnes. The skull was broad and saddle-shaped, with large zygomatic arches, fused facial bones, and short and bulbous, knob-like horns. Protitanops was broadly similar to the better known Megacerops, but distinguished by its smaller size, smaller horns, and retention of several primitive features, such as its smaller incisors and canines, and the somewhat flattened upper surface of its skull.

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  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

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