Antilocapridae Explained
The Antilocapridae are a family of ruminant artiodactyls endemic to North America. Their closest extant relatives are the giraffids.[1] Only one species, the pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), is living today; all other members of the family are extinct. The living pronghorn is a small ruminant mammal resembling an antelope.
Description
In most respects, antilocaprids resemble other ruminants. They have a complex, four-chambered stomach for digesting tough plant matter, cloven hooves, and small, forked horns. Their horns resemble those of the bovids, in that they have a true horny sheath, but, uniquely, they are shed outside the breeding season, and subsequently regrown. Their lateral toes are even further diminished than in bovids, with the digits themselves being entirely lost, and only the cannon bones remaining. Antilocaprids have the same dental formula as most other ruminants: .
Classification
The antilocaprids are ruminants of the clade Pecora. Other extant pecorans are the families Giraffidae (giraffes), Cervidae (deer), Moschidae (musk deer), and Bovidae (cattle, goats and sheep, wildebeests and allies, and antelopes). The exact interrelationships among the pecorans have been debated, mainly focusing on the placement of Giraffidae, but a large-scale ruminant genome sequencing study in 2019 suggested that Antilocapridae are the sister taxon to Giraffidae, as shown in the cladogram below.[2]
Evolution
The ancestors of pronghorn diverged from the giraffids in the Early Miocene.[2] This was in part of a relatively late mammal diversification following a climate change that transformed subtropical woodlands into open savannah grasslands.[2]
The antilocaprids evolved in North America, where they filled a niche similar to that of the bovids that evolved in the Old World. During the Miocene and Pliocene, they were a diverse and successful group, with many different species. Some had horns with bizarre shapes, or had four, or even six, horns. Examples include Osbornoceros, with smooth, slightly curved horns, Paracosoryx, with flattened horns that widened to forked tips, Ramoceros, with fan-shaped horns, and Hayoceros, with four horns.[3] [4]
Species
- Subfamily Antilocaprinae
- Tribe Antilocaprini
- Genus Antilocapra
- Genus †Texoceros[6]
- Texoceros altidens
- Texoceros edensis
- Texoceros guymonensis
- Texoceros minorei
- Texoceros texanus
- Texoceros vaughani
- Tribe †Ilingoceratini
- Genus †Ilingoceros
- Ilingoceros alexandrae
- Ilingoceros schizoceros
- Genus †Ottoceros[7]
- Ottoceros peacevalleyensis
- Genus †Plioceros[8]
- Plioceros blicki
- Plioceros dehlini
- Plioceros floblairi
- Genus †Sphenophalos[6]
- Sphenophalos garciae
- Sphenophalos middleswarti
- Sphenophalos nevadanus
- Tribe †Proantilocaprini
- Tribe Stockoceratini
- Genus †Capromeryx - (junior synonym Breameryx)
- Capromeryx arizonensis - (junior synonym B. arizonensis)
- Capromeryx furcifer - (junior synonyms B. minimus, C. minimus)
- Capromeryx gidleyi - (junior synonym B. gidleyi)
- Capromeryx mexicana - (junior synonym B. mexicana)
- Capromeryx minor - (junior synonym B. minor)
- Capromeryx tauntonensis
- Genus †Ceratomeryx[7]
- Genus †Hayoceros
- Hayoceros barbouri
- Hayoceros falkenbachi
- Genus †Hexameryx
- Genus †Hexobelomeryx[7]
- Hexobelomeryx fricki
- Hexobelomeryx simpsoni
- Genus †Stockoceros
- Stockoceros conklingi (junior synonym S. onusrosagris)
- Genus †Tetrameryx
- Tetrameryx irvingtonensis
- Tetrameryx knoxensis
- Tetrameryx mooseri
- Tetrameryx shuleri
- Tetrameryx tacubayensis
- Subfamily †Merycodontinae
- Genus †Cosoryx
- Cosoryx cerroensis
- Cosoryx furcatus
- Cosoryx ilfonensis
- Genus †Merriamoceros
- Genus †Merycodus (syn. Meryceros and Submeryceros)[9] [10]
- Merycodus crucensis
- Merycodus hookwayi
- Merycodus joraki
- Merycodus major
- Merycodus minimus
- Merycodus minor
- Merycodus necatus
- Merycodus nenzelensis
- Merycodus prodromus
- Merycodus sabulonis
- Merycodus warreni
- Genus †Paracosoryx[11]
- Paracosoryx alticornis
- Paracosoryx burgensis
- Paracosoryx dawesensis
- Paracosoryx furlongi
- Paracosoryx loxoceros
- Paracosoryx nevadensis
- Paracosoryx wilsoni
- Genus †Ramoceros
- Ramoceros brevicornis
- Ramoceros marthae
- Ramoceros merriami
- Ramoceros osborni
- Ramoceros palmatus
- Ramoceros ramosus
Notes and References
- Web site: Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) Fact Sheet: Taxonomy & History . International Environment Library Consortium . 8 August 2020.
- Chen . L. . Qiu . Q. . Jiang . Y. . Wang . K. . Large-scale ruminant genome sequencing provides insights into their evolution and distinct traits . 10.1126/science.aav6202 . Science . 364 . 6446 . eaav6202. 2019 . 31221828. 2019Sci...364.6202C. free .
- Book: Savage, RJG . Long, MR . 1986 . Mammal Evolution: an illustrated guide. registration . Facts on File. New York. 232–233. 0-8160-1194-X.
- Book: Palmer, D.. 1999 . The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. Marshall Editions. London. 1-84028-152-9. 280.
- Richards . G.D. . McCrossin . M.L. . 1991 . A new species of Antilocapra from the late Quaternary of California . Geobios . 24 . 5 . 623–635 . 10.1016/0016-6995(91)80027-W. 1991Geobi..24..623R .
- Davis . E.B. . Calède . J.J. . January 2012 . Extending the utility of artiodactyl postcrania for species-level identifications using multivariate morphometric analyses . Palaeontologia Electronica . 15 . 1 . 1A:22p . 13 August 2020.
- Semprebon . G.M. . Rivals . F. . September 2007 . Was grass more prevalent in the pronghorn past? An assessment of the dietary adaptations of Miocene to Recent Antilocapridae (Mammalia: Artiodactyla) . Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology . 253 . 3–4 . 332–347 . 10.1016/j.palaeo.2007.06.006. 2007PPP...253..332S .
- Carranza-Castenada . O. . Aranda-Gomez . J.J. . etal . April 2013 . The Early-Late Hemphillian (HH2) faunal assemblage from Juchipila Basin, State of Zacatecas, Mexico, and its biochronologic correlation with other Hemphillian faunas in central Mexico . https://web.archive.org/web/20190227095825/http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/8d22/ea9516c67fa2ebb456e1852b11bb5e0d9628.pdf . dead . 2019-02-27 . Contributions in Science . 521 . 13–49. 10.5962/p.226782 . 53606726 . 13 August 2020.
- Book: Janis . Kathleen M. . Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America: Volume 1, Terrestrial Carnivores, Ungulates, and Ungulate Like Mammals . 1998 . Cambridge University Press . 496.
- Book: Prothero . Donald R. . The Evolution of Artiodactyls . 2007 . Johns Hopkins University Press . 9780801887352 . 232.
- Beatty . B.L. . Martin . L.D. . June 2009 . The earliest North American record of the Antilocapridae (Artiodactyla, Mammalia) . PalaeoBios . 29 . 1 . 29–35 . 13 August 2020.