Damaliscus hypsodon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Damaliscus hypsodon
Temporal range: Mid - Late Pleistocene
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Alcelaphinae
Genus: Damaliscus
Species:
†D. hypsodon
Binomial name
†Damaliscus hypsodon
Faith et al., 2012

Damaliscus hypsodon is an extinct species of antelope from the Late Pleistocene of Africa. Fossils have been found in Kenya and Tanzania.

Taxonomy[]

It was first described in 2012, though its remains were initially discovered in 1990 and went unnamed.[1] The earliest remains are from around 392 to 330 ka,[2] while the latest are from as recently as 12,000 years ago.[1]

Description[]

Damaliscus hypsodon was a small alcelaphine, only around the size of an impala.[1] The teeth of D. hypsodon showed a degree of hypsodonty greater than living antelopes and comparable to horses, indicating that it was a specialized grazer. Its remains have been found in association with oryx and zebras, which along with its tooth morphology suggest that it lived in open and arid grasslands.[3]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Marean, C.; Gifford-Gonzalez, D. (1991). "Late Quaternary extinct ungulates of East Africa and palaeoenvironmental implications". Nature. 350 (6317): 418–420.
  2. ^ Faith, J. Tyler; Potts, Richard; Plummer, Thomas W.; Bishop, Laura C.; Marean, Curtis W.; Tryon, Christian A. (November 2012). "New perspectives on middle Pleistocene change in the large mammal faunas of East Africa: Damaliscus hypsodon sp. nov. (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from Lainyamok, Kenya". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 361–362: 84–93. Bibcode:2012PPP...361...84F. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.08.005.
  3. ^ Faith, J. Tyler (2014). "Late Pleistocene and Holocene mammal extinctions on continental Africa". Earth-Science Reviews. 128: 105–121. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2013.10.009.
Retrieved from ""