Trigenicus
| Trigenicus Temporal range:
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | †Protoceratidae |
| Genus: | †Trigenicus Douglass (1903) |
| Species | |
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Trigenicus is a small extinct genus of Artiodactyla, of the family Protoceratidae, endemic to North America from the Late Eocene epoch (Chadronian stage) 37.2—33.9 Ma, existing for approximately 3.3 million years.[1]
Taxonomy
Trigenicus was named by Douglass (1903) and treated as a synonym of Leptotragulus by Tabrum and Nichols 2001, but without discussion of Storer 1996. Its type is Trigenicus socialis. It was assigned to Protoceratidae by Douglass (1903) and Prothero (1998).[2][3]
Morphology
Trigenicus 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.
Body mass
A single specimen of Trigenicus were measured by M. Mendoza, C. M. Janis, and P. Palmqvist for body mass.[4] The specimen was determined to weigh:
- Specimen 1: 39.9 kg (88 lb)
Fossil distribution
Fossils have been recovered from:
- Toadstool Park, Chadron Formation, Sioux County, Nebraska
- Peanut Peak, Chadron Formation, Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota
- Little Spring Gulch, Cook Ranch Formation, Beaverhead County, Montana
- Carnagh, Cypress Hills Formation, Saskatchewan
References
- ^ PaleoBiology Database: Trigenicus, basic info
- ^ E. Douglass. 1903. Annals of Carnegie Museum 2(5)
- ^ D. R. Prothero. 1998. Protoceratidae. In C. M. Janis, K. M. Scott, and L. L. Jacobs (eds.), Evolution of Tertiary mammals of North America 431-438
- ^ 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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