''Blastomeryx'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of musk deer endemic to North America. It lived during the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

epoch 20.4—10.3 mya, existing for approximately . There may be only one species, ''Blastomeryx gemmifer''.Prothero, 2007 (p. 221-226) ''Blastomeryx'' was long and looked like a modern

chevrotain Chevrotains, or mouse-deer, are small even-toed ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, the only extant members of the infraorder Tragulina. The 10 extant species are placed in three genera, but several species also are known only ...

. Its

canines Canine may refer to: Zoology and anatomy * a dog-like Canid animal in the subfamily Caninae ** ''Canis'', a genus including dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals ** Dog, the domestic dog * Canine tooth, in mammalian oral anatomy People with the surn ...

were elongated into tusks which it probably used to uproot plants and fend off predators. While ''Blastomeryx'' (as well as modern musk deer) lacked antlers, a Middle Miocene species had bony knobs on its skull, which have been interpreted as incipient horns.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2588832 Prehistoric musk deer Miocene even-toed ungulates Pliocene even-toed ungulates Piacenzian extinctions Neogene mammals of North America White River Fauna Fossil taxa described in 1877 Prehistoric even-toed ungulate genera