Rusingoryx
Appearance
Rusingoryx Temporal range: Pleistocene
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Family: | Bovidae |
Subfamily: | Alcelaphinae |
Genus: | †Rusingoryx |
Species: | †R. atopocranion
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Binomial name | |
†Rusingoryx atopocranion |
Rusingoryx atopocranion is an extinct alcelaphine bovid artiodactyl closely related to the Wildebeest that lived on the plains of Kenya during the Pleistocene. It is known for its strange pointed nose with a large nasal dome that displays convergent evolution with hadrosaurid dinosaurs, which also had similar skulls.[1][2][3]
The first specimens, which were poorly preserved, were described in 1983, having been taken from a site called Bovid Hill on Rusinga Island in Lake Victoria.[2] Butchered bones found in 2011 with stone tools suggested that they had been killed by humans.[4][1] In 2016, remains of an additional 26 better preserved individuals were discovered.
References
- ^ a b "Revealed: Rusingoryx, an ancient wildebeest cousin with bizarre dinosaur traits". The Guardian. 5 February 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- ^ a b "Pleistocene Mammal Rusingoryx atopocranion Had Dinosaur-Like 'Nose'". sci-news.com. 5 February 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- ^ "Unexpected Convergent Evolution of Nasal Domes between Pleistocene Bovids and Cretaceous Hadrosaur Dinosaurs". Current Biology. 26 (4): 503–508. 2016. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.050.
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ignored (help) - ^ Faith, J. Tyler, et al. "Taxonomic status and paleoecology of Rusingoryx atopocranion (Mammalia, Artiodactyla), an extinct Pleistocene bovid from Rusinga Island, Kenya." Quaternary Research 75.3 (2011): 697-707. [1]