Simatherium Explained

Simatherium is an extinct genus of bovid that inhabited Africa during the Neogene period.

Palaeoecology

Based on dental microwear texture analysis of bovids from the Varswater Formation of South Africa, S. demissum was a mixed feeder.^[1] A mesowear texture analysis of S. demissum fossils from the same formation found it to be a grazer.^[2]

Notes and References

1. Ungar . Peter S. . Merceron . Gildas . Scott . Robert S. . 24 September 2007 . Dental Microwear Texture Analysis of Varswater Bovids and Early Pliocene Paleoenvironments of Langebaanweg, Western Cape Province, South Africa . . en . 14 . 3 . 163–181 . 10.1007/s10914-007-9050-x . 1064-7554 . 28 September 2024 . Springer Link.
2. Stynder . Deano D. . Winter 2011 . Fossil bovid diets indicate a scarcity of grass in the Langebaanweg E Quarry (South Africa) late Miocene/early Pliocene environment . . en . 37 . 1 . 126–139 . 10.1666/09074.1 . 0094-8373 . 28 September 2024 . Cambridge Core.