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prettygoodwordtoxodon (TOK-soh-don) - n., a large extinct South American hoofed mammal (Toxodon platensis) with bow-shaped teeth.
Imagine a oversize rhinoceros with a head shaped something like a hippo's and you won't be far off. This was the last (and largest) member of its order -- the only species to survive the creation of a land bridge across the Bering Strait, allowing Eurasian ungulates to out-compete with their New World cousins. But this one, possibly because of its size, survived (and was quite common) until the end of the Ice Age. First collected, and apparently named by?, Charles Darwin during his Beagle voyage, coined from Greek roots tókson, bow + odon, tooth. So, no, not toxic.
And in conclusion, megafauna.
---L.
Imagine a oversize rhinoceros with a head shaped something like a hippo's and you won't be far off. This was the last (and largest) member of its order -- the only species to survive the creation of a land bridge across the Bering Strait, allowing Eurasian ungulates to out-compete with their New World cousins. But this one, possibly because of its size, survived (and was quite common) until the end of the Ice Age. First collected, and apparently named by?, Charles Darwin during his Beagle voyage, coined from Greek roots tókson, bow + odon, tooth. So, no, not toxic.
And in conclusion, megafauna.
---L.
