Prolibytherium
| Prolibytherium Temporal range: Early Miocene | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | ?Climacoceratidae[1] |
| Genus: | Prolibytherium |
| Species: | Prolibytherium magnieri (Arambourg, 1961)[2] |
Prolibytherium ("Before Libya's Beast") is an extinct artiodactyl ungulate native to Early Miocene North Africa, from around 16.9 to 15.97 million years ago.[3]
The 1.80 metres (5 ft 11 in) long creature would have superficially resembled an okapi or a deer. Unlike these, however, Prolibytherium displayed dramatic sexual dimorphism, in that the male had a set of large, leaf-shaped ossicones with a width of 35 centimetres (14 in), while the female had a set of slender, horn-like ossicones.[1]
The taxonomic status of Prolibytherium remains in flux. At one time, it was described as a relative of Sivatherium (as a precursor to "Libytherium maurusium" (S. maurusium)). Later, it would be regarded as a palaeomerycid, or either as a climacoceratid, or as a basal member of Giraffoidea. With the discovery and study of a female skull in 2010, Prolibytherium is tentatively regarded as a climacoceratid.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 Sánchez, Israel M.; Quiralte, Victoria; Morales, Jorge; Azanza, Beatriz; Pickford, Martin (2010). "Sexual dimorphism of the frontal appendages of the early Miocene African pecoran Prolibytherium Arambourg, 1961 (Mammalia, Ruminantia)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30 (4): 1306–1310. doi:10.1080/02724634.2010.483555. JSTOR 40864406.
- ↑ Prolibytherium Arambourg, 1961 at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility
- ↑ "Prolibytherium". Fossilworks. Retrieved 13 June 2014.