Chalicothere

Chalicotheres were relatives of the rhinos, horses and tapirs. There were two main types, one being the bizarre knuckle-walkers that lived in woodland, the other being the more goatlike Ancylotherium. All characteristics show some convergence with the unrelated ground sloths, gorillas and giant pandas.

The most interesting feature of these chalicotheres is their front hands. They had very large, curved claws preventing the animals from walking on the soles of their feet. Instead they walked on their knuckles, claws bent in towards their wrists.

Traits & Evidence
The bones in the animals' arms show that its hands must have been twisted so that the palms faced inwards when on the ground. The hands themselves had long claws and are clearly adapted to bear weight on the knuckles, with the claws pointing upwards off the ground. Most of the weight was taken by the short, very strong hind legs.

The chalicotheres had no front teeth, and their grinding back teeth had hardly any wear on them, showing that they ate only the softest vegetation.

There have been many theories as to what the chalicotheres might have done with their long claws. Other animals use them for hunting - but the chalicotheres were obviously not fast-running animals and are unlikely to have been predators. Anteaters tend to have strong claws for digging out hard ants' nests, but the chalicotheres do not have the adaptations of anteaters either - such as having a long thin snout. Other people have suggested that they might have used the claws for digging up tubers - but the lack of wear on their teeth shows they did not have a gritty diet. Their arms were not particularly strong, but could be extended fully, giving them a long reach, so the most likely use for them was to pull down vegetation while they fed rather like a gorilla or panda.

Appearance
We have no evidence for the colour of chalicotheres. Being in a hot climate they are most likely to have had short hair, and were probably camouflaged. The knuckle-walking chalicotheres are found in woodland, and so a dappled pattern is most likely to have given them the best camouflage. The chalicotheres also had panda-like colouration on their heads.

In Walking with Beasts
Chalicothere appear in both the episode Land of Giants, and the opening sequence for every episode.

Land of Giants
A herd of chalicotheres emerge from the forest soon after the episode begins, and the narration describes them, and explains some facts about them. They begin to browse from the surrounding trees (right).

Later, the herd (who are still browsing) are attacked by a lone Hyaenadon. It kills one chalicothere by savaging its throat, and eats the carcass while the other chalicothere flee. A herd of entelodont show up, prompting the Hyaenadon to defeceate on the carcass and grind its teeth in display, but ultimately it gives up the chalicothere meal to the larger group of animals.

When the dry season comes, the chalicothere herd struggles, and are seen drinking from a dried up pond, the water almost completely gone, approached by another Entelodont. They are not seen after the 14:00 mark on the episode.

Next of Kin
Another type of chalicothere, Ancylotherium, appears in the episode Next of Kin.