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.

[4] 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.

The specific epithet is the Latinised name of a person or place, or a Latin adjective denoting a postulated characteristic of the species.

Its skull resembled that of a modern llama, while its limbs ended in hooved toes and were more built for speed than the feet of Protylopus.

[citation needed] Unlike its modern cousins, which are either adapted for desert or alpine conditions, Poebrotherium took the place of a gazelle or deer in the White River Fauna ecosystem.