Endocasts and brain evolution in Anthracotheriidae (Artiodactyla, Hippopotamoidea).

Anthracotheres are a fossil family of 'Suiformes' from the Old World, North and Central America. They are known from the middle Eocene to the late Pliocene, and are suggested to be the stem group of Hippopotamidae. Yet, their soft anatomy remains poorly known. In this study we describe the virtual endocast of the late Oligocene anthracothere Microbunodon minimum, reconstructed using microtomography, as well as the natural endocast of Merycopotamus medioximus from the late Miocene. These are the first anthracothere endocasts ever described. Particular attention is given to the relative proportions of the brain, the neocortex, the cerebellum and the olfactory bulbs. The 'backward shift' of the pituitary of M. minimum, and the possible presence of a K lobe in M. medioximus, is discussed. Previous statements that some endocranial characters were subject to convergence among mammals are also corroborated.