Moropus Pronunciation
Picture, name meaning, and how to say Moropus. Free guide for kids and parents.
How to Pronounce Moropus
MOR-oh-pus
ALL CAPS = stressed syllable
What does Moropus mean?
slow foot, from Greek roots
Name Roots
"moros"
slow or dull, from Ancient Greek
"pous"
foot, from Ancient Greek
Fun Facts
- ✓Moropus had massive retractable-style claws so large and curved that the very first fossil claws found were mistaken for giant turtle shell fragments by confused scientists in the 1800s.
- ✓Moropus is a close relative of horses and rhinos, belonging to the same group called perissodactyls, meaning an odd-toed ungulate that somehow evolved huge claws instead of the hooves its cousins kept.
- ✓Othniel Charles Marsh, the famous fossil hunter from the Bone Wars era, named Moropus in 1877, and its best specimens come from the richly fossiliferous Miocene beds of Nebraska and Colorado.
- ✓Moropus has the best fossil record of any schizotheriine chalicothere, meaning scientists have found multiple complete skeletons, giving researchers a rare full picture of what this bizarre animal looked like in life.
- ✓Scientists think Moropus may have used its giant claws like a knuckle-walking gorilla, walking on the backs of its curled fists to protect the claws while moving around on the ground.
