Taurotragus arkelli
Taurotragus arkelli Temporal range: Pleistocene
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Family: | Bovidae |
Subfamily: | Bovinae |
Genus: | Taurotragus |
Species: | †T. arkelli
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Binomial name | |
†Taurotragus arkelli Leakey, 1965
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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[]
- ^ Leakey, L.S.B. (1965). Olduvai Gorge: Volume 1. Cambridge University Press. pp. 43–44. ISBN 052105527X.
- ^ Furstenburg, Deon (2016). Eland (Tragelaphus oryx). Briza Publications. pp. 173–179.
- ^ Bubenik, Anthony B. (2012). Horns, Pronghorns, and Antlers: Evolution, Morphology, Physiology, and Social Significance. Springer New York. p. 210. ISBN 9781461389668.
Categories:
- Prehistoric even-toed ungulates
- Pleistocene even-toed ungulates
- Prehistoric bovids
- Pleistocene mammals of Africa