Pholidocercus is an extinct monotypic genus of mammal from the Messel pit related to and resembling the modern-day hedgehog with a single species, Pholidocercus hassiacus. Like the hedgehog, it was covered in thin spines. Unlike hedgehogs, it had scales on its head in a helmet-like formation, and had a long, thick, scaled tail.
Pholidocercus Temporal range: Early Eocene,
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P. hassiacus at the HMNS | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Eulipotyphla |
Family: | †Amphilemuridae |
Genus: | †Pholidocercus von Koenigswald & Storch, 1983 |
Type species | |
P. hassiacus von Koenigswald & Storch, 1983
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