Euceratherium
| Shrub-ox Temporal range: Early Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Caprinae |
| Tribe: | Ovibovini |
| Genus: | †Euceratherium Furlong & Sinclair, 1904 |
| Species: | †E. collinum
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| Binomial name | |
| †Euceratherium collinum Furlong & Sinclair, 1904
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Species level:
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The shrub-ox (Euceratherium collinum) is an extinct species of ovibovine caprine native to North America and China during the Pleistocene epoch. It was the only species in the genus Euceratherium.
Taxonomy
[edit | edit source]Euceratherium was formally described in 1904.[1] The species is considered to be closely related to the living muskox, as well as extinct genera like Bootherium.[2]
Distribution
[edit | edit source]The earliest fossils of the genus are known from the Early Pleistocene of China, from which it then migrated into North America.[2]
Late Pleistocene shrub-ox remains are known from fossil finds spanning from what is now Northern California to Guatemala, it was the southernmost caprine in North America.
Description
[edit | edit source]Euceratherium has been estimated to weight approximately 450 kilograms (990 lb).[3]
Ecology
[edit | edit source]On the basis of preserved dung pellets, it has been established that they were browsers with a diet of trees and shrubs.[4] They seem to have preferred hilly landscapes.
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Furlong, E. L. & Sinclair, W. J. (1904). Preliminary description of Euceratherium collinum. University of California Publications, American Archaeology and Ethnology, 2:18.
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Further reading
[edit | edit source]- P. S. Martin: Quaternary Extinctions. The University of Arizona Press, 1984 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- Grundzüge der Faunen- und Verbreitungsgeschichte der Säugetiere, E. Thenius, 2.Auflage, Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart, 1980 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
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