''Discokeryx'' 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 ...

even-toed ungulate The even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla , ) are ungulates—hoofed animals—which bear weight equally on two (an even number) of their five toes: the third and fourth. The other three toes are either present, absent, vestigial, or pointing poster ...

s, possibly related to the modern giraffe and

okapi The okapi (; ''Okapia johnstoni''), also known as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe, or zebra giraffe, is an artiodactyl mammal that is endemic to the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. It is the only species ...

. ''D. xiezhi'' was alive during the Early

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 ...

period 17–16.9 million years ago. Fossilized remains of this animal were discovered in the Halamagai Formation located in northwest China.

Description

''Discokeryx'' had a thick-boned cranium which had disk-shaped headgear located in the middle of the head, cervical

vertebra The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristi ...

e with thickened centra, and the most complicated head-neck joints in any mammal known at the time of its discovery in 2022. These adaptations were for head-butting behavior between males, comparable to the behaviors of rams and musk-oxen as well as the neck-blowing in modern male giraffes. The neck adaptations of ''Discokeryx'' help scientists to better understand the triggers for the evolution of the necks of giraffoids. Compared to extant head-butting animals such as rams and musk-oxen, ''D. xiezhi'' had the most optimized head-butting adaptations of all, with a skull that protected the

brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a ve ...

more efficiently than other head-butting mammals. Tooth enamel isotopes indicate that the species was an open-land grazer which drank from multiple sources of water, and that their habitats included areas that other contemporary mammals were not adapted to make use of like ''D. xiezhi'' could.

Etymology

The name of the type species and only species, ''Discokeryx xiezhi'', was named after the

Xiezhi The ''xiezhi'' () is a mythical ancient creature of Chinese origin impact to throughout East Asian legends. It resembles an ox or goat, with thick dark fur covering its body, bright eyes, and a single long horn on its forehead. It has great intel ...

, which is a Chinese mythical creature with one horn. The name of the genus translates to "round-plated horn" in English.

References

External links

Climacoceratidae Prehistoric even-toed ungulate genera Miocene mammals of Asia Fossils of China Fossil taxa described in 2022 {{Paleo-eventoedungulate-stub