Brachyodus was a genus of anthracothere that lived in Europe during the Early Miocene.
Taxonomy The type and only species of this genus is B. onoideus. The nominal species "Brachyodus" strategus has been reassigned to Paenanthracotherium based on similarities with P. bergeri.Laureline Scherler; Fabrice Lihoreau; Damien Becker (2018). "To split or not to split Anthracotherium? A phylogeny of Anthracotheriinae (Cetartiodactyla: Hippopotamoidea) and its palaeobiogeographical implications". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. Online edition. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zly052. Likewise, the putative Asian species "B." japonicus was referred to Elomeryx by Tsubamoto and Kohno (2011).Tsubamoto, T. and N. Kohno (2011). Reappraisal of "Brachyodus" japonicus, an Oligocene anthracotheriid cetartiodactyl from Japan. Paleontological Research, Vol.15, Number 3.
Distribution Fossils of Brachyodus are known from latest early Miocene deposits in Europe.Antunes, M.T. and L. Ginsburg (2003). The last Anthracothere Brachyodus onoideus (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from westernmost Europe and its extinction. Ciencias da Terra (UNL), Number 15. It has also been reported from the late Burdigalian fossil site of Tagay, located on Olkhon Island in Lake Baikal.
Palaeobiology Palaeoecology The microanatomy of its long bones suggests B. onoideus was mostly terrestrial but that it did possess some semi-aquatic adaptations reflecting a slight degree of water dependence.
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