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Description
In conjunction with the decline of the small 1-2m long Ornithschian Bugtisaurids in Eurasia by the Middle Miocene, the Alterungulates began to move into their vacated niches. Basal forms such as the wastebasket group ‘Parvihyracidae’ remained modest rodent and hyrax-like animals, although in the form of the more derived genus Ratufitherium we can glimpse the future trajectory of the clade. This 60cm long cursorial herbivorous Mesaxonian Ungulate would have resembled the Phenacodontids from Our World, with a narrow almost dog-like skull and lived much like a paca or agouti in forested and savannah ecosystems. The tail was long and heavy, more like that of a Carnivoran than any modern ungulate that we are familiar with. Although possessing five toed feet, the outer two digits were notably reduced and did not touch the ground, with the animal supporting its weight on the middle digit. Each digit was tipped with a small hoof. It was a generalized herbivore that fed on leaves, fruit and fresh grasses, although may have sometimes consumed insects and carrion on occasion. Ratufitherium possessed relatively full dentition, complete with bunodont molars and prominent canines that were probably utilized in intraspecies combat. Fossil remains of this genus are relatively rare, which may indicate that it was solitary in nature, much like the chevrotains of Our World. The limbs were slender and relatively elongated, especially compared to its more basal relatives, which were more comparable to hyraxes. This trait would have been very useful in escaping from predators, such as the contemporary Alioramoid Tyrannosaur Volkotyrannus and the Theriodelphid Metatherian Yarolestes. By the Pliocene, Alterungulates had expanded their range across Eurasia, developing larger body sizes and increased adaptations for grazing and surviving in harsh marginal environments.

Description
In conjunction with the decline of the small 1-2m long Ornithschian Bugtisaurids in Eurasia by the Middle Miocene, the Alterungulates began to move into their vacated niches. Basal forms such as the wastebasket group ‘Parvihyracidae’ remained modest rodent and hyrax-like animals, although in the form of the more derived genus Ratufitherium we can glimpse the future trajectory of the clade. This 60cm long cursorial herbivorous Mesaxonian Ungulate would have resembled the Phenacodontids from Our World, with a narrow almost dog-like skull and lived much like a paca or agouti in forested and savannah ecosystems. The tail was long and heavy, more like that of a Carnivoran than any modern ungulate that we are familiar with. Although possessing five toed feet, the outer two digits were notably reduced and did not touch the ground, with the animal supporting its weight on the middle digit. Each digit was tipped with a small hoof. It was a generalized herbivore that fed on leaves, fruit and fresh grasses, although may have sometimes consumed insects and carrion on occasion. Ratufitherium possessed relatively full dentition, complete with bunodont molars and prominent canines that were probably utilized in intraspecies combat. Fossil remains of this genus are relatively rare, which may indicate that it was solitary in nature, much like the chevrotains of Our World. The limbs were slender and relatively elongated, especially compared to its more basal relatives, which were more comparable to hyraxes. This trait would have been very useful in escaping from predators, such as the contemporary Alioramoid Tyrannosaur Volkotyrannus and the Theriodelphid Metatherian Yarolestes. By the Pliocene, Alterungulates had expanded their range across Eurasia, developing larger body sizes and increased adaptations for grazing and surviving in harsh marginal environments.