Ocepeia
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Ocepeia Temporal range: Paleocene, 61–57 Ma |
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| Ocepeia daouiensis head restoration | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Superorder: | Afrotheria |
| Clade: | Paenungulata (?) |
| Order: | incertae sedis |
| Family: |
†Ocepeiidae Gheerbrant, 2014 |
| Genus: |
†Ocepeia Gheerbrant & Sudre, 2001 |
| Type species | |
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Ocepeia daouiensis Gheerbrant & Sudre, 2001 |
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| Species | |
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O. daouiensis Gheerbrant & Sudre, 2001 |
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O. daouiensis Gheerbrant & Sudre, 2001
O. grandis Gheerbrant, 2014
Ocepeia is an extinct genus of afrotherian mammal that lived in present-day Morocco during the middle Paleocene epoch, approximately 60 million years ago. First named and described in 2001, the type species is O. daouiensis from the Selandian stage of Morocco's Ouled Abdoun Basin. A second, larger species, O. grandis, is known from the Thanetian, a slightly younger stage in the same area. In life, the two species are estimated to have weighed about 3.5 kg (7.7 lb) and 10 kg (22 lb), respectively, and are believed to have been specialized leaf-eaters. The fossil skulls of Ocepeia are the oldest known afrotherian skulls, and the best-known of any Paleocene mammal in Africa.
Loosely grouped with the archaic ungulates known as "condylarths", Ocepeia shares several features with primitive paenungulates (a group including elephants, hyraxes, and extinct relatives), but some analyses suggest it is more closely related to Afroinsectiphilia (a group containing aardvarks, golden moles, and tenrecs). As such, it may represent a transitional stage in the evolution of paenungulates from insectivore-like mammals. Unusual features of Ocepeia include skull bones with many air-spaces, and teeth and jaws reminiscent of those of simian primates. Ocepeia also has fewer teeth than other early ungulates. Ocepeia is distinct enough from other groups that it is placed in its own family, Ocepeiidae.
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