''Lagomeryx'' is a genus of prehistoric ungulate that lived in

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

from the lower to middle

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first 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 means "less recen ...

. Fossil remains were found in Europe and Asia.

Description

This animal looked not very different from present

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 ...

s, but possessed two small horns on the skull. Its size was very small (''Lagomeryx'' means "

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

ruminant Ruminants (suborder Ruminantia) are ungulate, hoofed herbivorous grazing or browsing mammals that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by Enteric fermentation, fermenting it in a specialized stomach prior to digestion, principally ...

" in reference to the size). The smallest species, ''Lagomeryx pumilio'', was just as big as a

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The ge ...

. ''Lagomeryx'' and his close relatives (such as '' Ligeromeryx'' and '' Stephanocemas'') had many primitive features resembling those of moschoid ancestors, such as the presence of two elongated

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 ...

in adult males. The cranial appendages were formed by a relatively short

pedicle Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

. In smaller species (such as '' L. pumilio'') these horns were very tiny, and did not exceed the height of 1.5

centimeter 330px, Different lengths as in respect to the Electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the Metre and its deriveds scales. The Microwave are in-between 1 meter to 1 millimeter. A centimetre (international spelling) or centimeter (American spellin ...

Species

*''L. colberti'' *''L. complicidens'' *''L. manai'' Kantapon Suraprasit et al. 2014Kantapon Suraprasit et al.
''Lagomeryx manai'' - Systematics and Phylogeny of middle Miocene Cervidae (Mammalia) from Mae Moh Basin (Thailand) and a Paleoenvironmental Estimate using Enamel Isotopy of Sympatric Herbivore Species
PaleoMammalogy 2014 *''L. parvulus''Gertrud Rössner
Systematics and palaeoecology of Ruminantia (Artiodactyla, Mammalia) from the Miocene of Sandelzhausen (southern Germany, Northern Alpine Foreland Basin)
in: Resear Gate, March 2010, DOI: 10.1007/s12542-010-0052-2 *''L. pumilio'' *''L. ruetimeyeri'' Thenius, 1948 *''L. simpsoni'' *''L. teilhardi''Wei Dong
The fossil records of deer in China
in: ResearchGate January 1993. 95-102
PDF
/ref> *''L. triacuminates'' *''L. tsaidamensis'' The type species is ''L. ruetimeyeri'', which could reach the size of a current

muntjac Muntjacs ( ), also known as the barking deer or rib-faced deer, (URL is Google Books) are small deer of the genus ''Muntiacus'' native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Muntjacs are thought to have begun appearing 15–35 million years ago, ...

, and was found mainly in Germany and France. Other European species are the tiny ''L. pumilio'', and ''L. parvulus'', which was intermediate in size between the two previous ones. Asian species were ''L. complicidens'' and ''L. colberti'' from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, the latter more specialized and endowed with rather elongated horns. ''L. manai'', found in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, was large and probably related to ''L. complicidens''Kantapon Suraprasit, Yaowalak Chaimanee, Herve Bocherens, Olivier Chavasseau and Jean-Jacques Jaeger
Systematics and phylogeny of middle Miocene Cervidae (Mammalia) from Mae Moh Basin (Thailand) and a paleoenvironmental estimate using enamel isotopy of sympatric herbivore species
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 34 (1) 2014, P. 179–194, DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2013.789038

References

External links

Palaeomerycidae
at Fossilworks

* C.-C. Young. 1964
On a new Lagomeryx from Lantian, Shensi
Vertebrata PalAsiatica 8(4):329-340. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2013.789038 * Gentry, A.W., and E.P.J. Heizmann. 1993. Lagomeryx Roger, 1904 (Mammalia, Artiodactyla): proposed designation of L. ruetimeyeri Thenius, 1948 as the type species. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 50(2): 133–136. * Gertrud E. Rössner. 2010
Systematics and palaeoecology of Ruminantia (Artiodactyla, Mammalia) from the Miocene of Sandelzhausen (southern Germany, Northern Alpine Foreland Basin)
Volume 84, Issue 1, pp 123–162 * Fahlbusch, V. 1977. Die obermiozäne Fossil-Lagerstätte Sandelzhausen 11. Ein neues Zwerghirsch-Geweih: Lagomeryx pumilio? Mitteilungen der Bayerischen Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und historische Geologie 17: 227–233 (German) * Roger, O. 1904. Wirbeltierreste aus dem Obermiocän der bayerisch-schwäbischen Hochebene. V. Teil. Bericht des Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins für Schwaben und Neuburg (e.V.) Augsburg 36: 3–22. (German) * Stehlin, H.G. 1937. Bemerkungen über die miocaenen Hirschgenera Stephanocemas und Lagomeryx. Verhandlungen der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Basel 48: 193–214. (German) * T. Mors, F. Hocht, and B. Wutzler. 2000. Die erst Wirbeltierfauna aus der miozanen Braunkohle der Niederrheinischen Bucht (Ville-Schichten, Tagebau Hambach) he first vertebrate fauna from the Miocene Ville Series of the Lower Rhine Embayment (Hambach open cast mine, western Germany) Paläontologische Zeitschrift 74(1/2): 145-170 (German) {{Taxonbar, from=Q17635203 Palaeomerycidae Miocene even-toed ungulates Miocene mammals of Asia Miocene mammals of Europe Prehistoric even-toed ungulate genera

Description

Species

See also

References

External links

Further reading