Eobasileus

History of research Eobasileus cornutus was originally described as a species of the obsolete genus Lefalaphodon, L. discornatus (Lefalaphodon is a variant of the more popular obsolete genus Loxolophodon, resulting from a misinterpretation of a telegram from Edward Drinker Cope). Collected from Haystack Mountain in the Washakie Formation was the holotype specimen consisting of a skull, the scapula, some vertebrae, the sacrum, the pelvis and the femur. A dispute over Eobasileus specifically and the uintatheres more generally helped to spark the Bone Wars between Cope and Marsh. In 1873, Marsh wrote: "Cope has endeavored to secure priority by sharp practice, and failed […] Prof. Cope's errors will continue to invite correction, but these, like his blunders, are hydra-headed, and life is really too short to spend valuable time in such an ungracious task, especially as in the present case Prof. Cope has not even returned thanks for the correction of nearly half a hundred errors[…]" The American Naturalist declined to print this letter as a scientific article, but did publish it as an appendix; Marsh paid for its inclusion. Currently, only one species of Eobasileus is considered valid; E. cornutus. The species is grouped closely with Tetheopsis (Tetheopsis being considered a synonym of Eobasileus by some authors) and Uintatherium, in the family Uintatheriidae. The below cladogram is based on that of Schoch & Lucas (1985):}}}}}}|label1=Dinocerata}} == Description ==

Eobasileus was the largest dinoceratan, standing about at the shoulder. it is more likely that these structures were analogous to the ossicones of giraffes and were covered in skin. The horns on the maxilla are similarly elongated while the nasal horns are flattened and shovel-shaped. Near to the mastoids the skull widens and is pockmarked by small fossae (holes). The feet are similar in build to proboscideans, though the structure is closer to those of perissodactyls. Much like proboscideans, the phalanges are shortened and hooves are reduced. The arrangement of the bones into a columnar shape suggest there was an elastic pad similar to those of elephants. == Paleoecology ==

. Eobasileus was likely an early hind-gut fermenter. Eobasileus lived in many Bridgerian and Uintan formations, including the Bridger Formation, the Washakie Formation and Moffat County. The areas Eobasileus is known from were, at the time, forested, with the flora likely consisting of many palms and other thermophilic plants. Eocene North America was biodiverse, and Eobasileus is known to have coexisted with many species, including the brontotheres Amynodon, Dolichorhinus and Sthenodectes; == Notes ==