| Blastomeryx Temporal range: Early to Middle Miocene | |
|---|---|
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| Skeletal reconstruction | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Moschidae |
| Subfamily: | †Blastomerycinae |
| Genus: | †Blastomeryx Cope, 1877 |
| Species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Blastomeryx is an extinct genus of musk deer endemic to North America. It lived during the Miocene epoch 20.4—10.3 mya, existing for approximately 10 million years.[1] There may be only one species, Blastomeryx gemmifer.[2]
Description
Blastomeryx was 75 centimetres (30 in) long and looked like a modern chevrotain. Its canines 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.[3] Blastomeryx had a reduced radius and ulna, as well as fully formed cannon bones, like modern deer.[4]
History
In older literature, Blastomeryx has been placed within Cervidae proper, though this affinity is generally not believed. Edward Drinker Cope and William Diller Matthew were of the belief that Blastomeryx descended from Hypertragulids, assuming the genus was indigenous and not a result of any migration.[4]
References
- ↑ Blastomeryx at fossilworks
- ↑ Prothero, 2007 (p. 221-226)[full citation needed]
- ↑ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 273. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
- 1 2 Scott, William Berryman; Scott, William Berryman (1913). A history of land mammals in the Western Hemisphere; illustrated with 32 plates and more than 100 drawings. New York: Macmillan.