Phosphatherium is an extinct genus of primitive proboscidean that lived during the Paleocene

Paleocene

The Paleocene or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from about . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era...

 to early Eocene

Eocene

The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...

 some 56 million years ago of North Africa.

Known from fragmentary dentary materials from the paleocene (Thanetian

Thanetian

The Thanetian is, in the ICS' Geologic timescale, the latest age or uppermost stratigraphic stage of the Paleocene Epoch or series. It spans the time between and . The Thanetian is preceded by the Selandian age and followed by the Ypresian age...

) deposits of the Ouled Abdoun Basin, Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

, it is the smallest (about 60 cm long and weight 15 kilograms) and the second oldest known member of the proboscidean order. Only Eritherium

Eritherium

Eritherium is an extinct genus of early Proboscidea found in Ouled Abdoun basin , Morocco. It was first named by Emmanuel Gheerbrant in 2009 and the type species is Eritherium azzouzorum. Eritherium is the oldest, smallest and most primitive known elephant relative....

is older. Like its later relative, Moeritherium

Moeritherium

Moeritherium is a genus consisting of several species. These prehistoric mammals are related to the elephant and, more distantly, the sea cow...

, the animal was probably an amphibious browser that fed on aquatic plants, akin to a dog-sized hippopotamus

Hippopotamus

The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...

.