Paratoceras

Paratoceras
Temporal range: Miocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Suborder: Tylopoda
Family: †Protoceratidae
Subfamily: †Protoceratinae
Genus: Paratoceras
Frick (1937)
Species
  • P. macadamsi
  • P. tedfordi
  • P. wardi
Range of Paratoceras based on fossil record

Paratoceras is a medium-sized extinct genus of Artiodactyla, of the family Protoceratidae, endemic to North America from the Miocene epoch, 16.3—15.97 Ma, existing for approximately 0.33 million years.[1]

Taxonomy

Paratoceras was named by Frick (1937). Its type is Paratoceras macadamsi. It was assigned to Protoceratidae by Frick (1937) and Carroll (1988); and to Protoceratinae by Webb (1981), Prothero (1998), Webb et al. (2003) and Prothero and Ludtke (2007).[2][3][4]

Morphology

Poabromylus resembled deer. However they were more closely related to camelids. In addition to having horns in the more usual place, protoceratids had additional, rostral horns above the orbital cavity. Poabromylus was larger than Eocene members of Tylopoda: Heteromeryx, Leptoreodon, Leptotragulus, Toromeryx, Trigenicus, and Poabromylus.

Body mass

A single fossil specimen of Poabromylus was measured by M. Mendoza, C. M. Janis, and P. Palmqvist for body mass.[5] The specimen was determined to weigh:

Fossil distribution

Fossils have been recovered from:

References

  1. ↑ PaleoBiology Database: Paratoceras, basic info
  2. ↑ S. D. Webb. 1981. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 1(3-4)
  3. ↑ R. L. Carroll. 1988. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York 1-698
  4. ↑ D. R. Prothero and J. A. Ludtke. 2007. Family Protoceratidae. in D. R. Prothero and S. Foss (eds.), The Evolution of Artiodactyls 169-176
  5. ↑ M. Mendoza, C. M. Janis, and P. Palmqvist. 2006. Estimating the body mass of extinct ungulates: a study on the use of multiple regression. Journal of Zoology 270(1):90-101


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