page_title: Poebrotherium
section_title: Discovery and history
hierarchical_section_title: Poebrotherium / Discovery and history
caption_attribution_description: Poebrotherium sp. of CosmoCaixa
context_page_description: Poebrotherium is an extinct genus of camelid, endemic to North America. They lived from the Eocene to Miocene epochs, 46.3—13.6 mya, existing for approximately 32 million years.
context_section_description: Poebrotherium was first named by scientist Joseph Leidy in 1848, and its relationship to other White River fossils was later expanded by him in 1853. Fur trapper Samuel Culbertson was working in Nebraska in pursuit of fur bearing mammals, and found a collection of strange fossil animal bones. He sent a box of these bones to his family back east, and not knowing what to make of them, they forwarded the remains to Leidy for identification. Several animals' remains were included in this package, but one of the most interesting was that of a small mammal, about the size of a small deer or sheep. In addition to a partial skull, a portion of a forelimb was found. The portions that Leidy was able to examine helped him determine it was likely related to modern llamas, even though there was a paucity of new material available after his 1848 diagnosis. This package spawned Leidy's interest in the White River badlands and its fauna, and he eventually sent collectors from the American Museum west to expand his collection. Between 1848 and 1853, cases of new material were shipping back to Leidy. Maddeningly, only three more Poebrotherium tooth samples were among the remains recovered.
caption: Fossil of Poebrotherium sp. in CosmoCaixa Barcelona
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