Protoceratidae

Protoceratidae is an extinct family of herbivorous North American artiodactyls (even-toed ungulates) that lived during the Eocene through Pliocene at around 46.2—4.9 Mya, existing for about 41 million years.[2]

Protoceratids
Temporal range: Middle Eocene–Early Pliocene[1]
Synthetoceras
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Tragulina
Family: †Protoceratidae
Subfamilies and Genera

†Leptotragulinae

†Protoceratinae

†Synthetoceratinae

Range of Protoceratidae based on fossil record.

Classification

Protoceratidae was erected by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1891, with the type genus Protoceras and assigned to the Artiodactyla.[3][4][5] It was later assigned to Pecora,[6] and more recently to Ruminantia[7][8] or Tylopoda.[9] However, recently a relationship to chevrotains in the infraorder Tragulina has been proposed.[8]

Morphology

When alive, protoceratids would have probably resembled deer, though they were not directly related. Protoceratids ranged from 1 to 2 m in length, from about the size of a roe deer to an elk. Unlike many modern ungulates, they lacked cannon bones in their legs. Their dentition was similar to that of modern deer and cattle, suggesting they fed on tough grasses and similar foods, with a complex stomach similar to that of camels. At least some forms are believed to have lived in herds.[10]

The most dramatic feature of the protoceratids, however, were the horns of the males. In addition to having horns in the more usual place, protoceratids had additional, rostral horns above their noses. These horns were either paired, as in Syndyoceras, or fused at the base, and branching into two near the tip, as in Synthetoceras. In life, the horns were probably covered with skin, much like the ossicones of a giraffe. The females were either hornless, or had far smaller horns than the males. Horns were therefore probably used in sexual display or competition for mates. In later forms, the horns were large enough to have been used in sparring between males, much as with the antlers of some modern deer.[11]

Genera by epoch

Eocene

Oligocene

Miocene

Pliocene
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References
  1. Prothero, D.R. (1998). "Protoceratidae". In Janis, C.M.; Scott, K.M.; Jacobs, L.L. (eds.). Evolution of Tertiary mammals of North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 431–438. ISBN 0-521-35519-2.
  2. PaleoBiology Database: Protoceratidae, basic info
  3. O. C. Marsh. 1891. A horned artiodactyle (Protoceras celer) from the Miocene. The American Journal of Science and Arts, series 3 41(241):81-82
  4. S. D. Webb, B. L. Beatty, and G. Poinar, Jr. 2003. New evidence of Miocene Protoceratidae including a new species from Chiapas, Mexico. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 279:348-367
  5. D. R. Prothero and J. A. Ludtke. 2007. Family Protoceratidae. in D. R. Prothero and S. Foss (eds.), The Evolution of Artiodactyls 169-176
  6. H. J. Cook. 1934. New artiodactyls from the Oligocene and Lower Miocene of Nebraska. American Midland Naturalist 15(2):148-165
  7. Thurmond and Jones (1981)
  8. "Relationships of Cetacea (Artiodactyla) among mammals: increased taxon sampling alters interpretations of key fossils and character evolution". PLoS ONE. 4 (9): e7062. 2009. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0007062. PMC 2740860. PMID 19774069.
  9. Carroll and by Webb et al., 2003
  10. Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. pp. 272–273. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
  11. Savage, RJG, & Long, MR (1986). Mammal Evolution: an illustrated guide. New York: Facts on File. pp. 222–225. ISBN 0-8160-1194-X.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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