Taurotragus arkelli

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Taurotragus arkelli
Temporal range: Pleistocene
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Bovinae
Genus: Taurotragus
Species:
T. arkelli
Binomial name
Taurotragus arkelli
Leakey, 1965

Taurotragus arkelli is an extinct species of eland from eastern Africa that lived during the Pleistocene.

Description[]

Taurotragus arkelli was first described L.S.B. Leakey in 1965 from the Olduvai Gorge (Bed IV) in Tanzania. The material assigned to the species consists of a cranium and horn cores.[1]

T. arkelli is regarded as the ancestor of the modern common eland.[2] In comparison to modern eland, T. arkelli shows what are considered primitive characteristics for the genus, such as a longer braincase and horn cores slightly more upright.[3]

References[]

  1. ^ Leakey, L.S.B. (1965). Olduvai Gorge: Volume 1. Cambridge University Press. pp. 43–44. ISBN 052105527X.
  2. ^ Furstenburg, Deon (2016). Eland (Tragelaphus oryx). Briza Publications. pp. 173–179.
  3. ^ Bubenik, Anthony B. (2012). Horns, Pronghorns, and Antlers: Evolution, Morphology, Physiology, and Social Significance. Springer New York. p. 210. ISBN 9781461389668.
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