Merycodus

Merycodus is an extinct genus of the artiodactyl family Antilocapridae.[1] Fossils of this genus have been found in the Santa Fe Group of New Mexico.[2]

Merycodus
Temporal range: Miocene
Male and female M. warreni
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Antilocapridae
Subfamily: †Merycodontinae
Genus: †Merycodus
Leidy, 1854
Species
  • M. crusensis
  • M. hookwayi
  • M. joraki
  • M. major
  • M. minimus
  • M. minor
  • M. necatus
  • M. nenzelensis
  • M. prodromus
  • M. sabulonis
  • M. warreni
Synonyms

Meryceros
Submeryceros

Taxonomy

Merycodus has had a confusing taxonomic history. The closely related Meryceros and Submeryceros are generally regarded as synonymous with Merycodus.[3][4] One described species known as Merycodus grandis has now been reclassified as a species of Prosynthetoceras.[5] Another former species, M. furcatus is now placed in Cosoryx.

Description
M. cf. nectatus

Merycodus had relatively short horn shafts with tines of nearly equal size that were about as long as the shaft. Species traditionally included in Meryceros had horns that were generally larger and more laterally compressed.[3]

References
  1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-19. Retrieved 2011-09-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Galusha, Ted; Blick, John C. (1971). "Stratigraphy of the Santa Fe Group, New Mexico" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 144 (1). Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  3. Janis, Kathleen M. (1998). Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America: Volume 1, Terrestrial Carnivores, Ungulates, and Ungulate Like Mammals. Cambridge University Press. p. 496.
  4. Prothero, Donald R. (2007). The Evolution of Artiodactyls. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 232. ISBN 9780801887352.
  5. The Texas Journal of Science: Volume 19. Texas Academy of Science. 1967.
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