| Sinclairomeryx Temporal range: Early Miocene | |
|---|---|
| |
| Reconstruction by WillemSvdMerwe | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Family: | †Palaeomerycidae |
| Subfamily: | †Aletomerycinae |
| Genus: | †Sinclairomeryx Frick, 1937 |
| Species: | †S. riparius |
| Type species | |
| †Blastomeryx riparius Matthew, 1912 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Sinclairomeryx sinclairi Frick, 1937 | |
Sinclairomeryx is a genus of palaeomerycid ungulate from the Early Miocene epoch of North America. Fossils have been foundnin Nebraska and Saskatchewan. A single species is currently accepted, S. riparius. The animal is characterized by "C"-shaped ossicones.
History[]
Historical depiction of Sinclairomeryx as the "four horned deer"
Blastomeryx (Dyseomeryx) riparius was named by paleontologist William Diller Matthew in a 1924 publication. It was based on fossils from the Sheep Creek Formation in Nebraska. The rocks there are from the Burdigalian stage of the Miocene, about 20.6 - 16.3 MBC. In 1937, Childs Frick moved it to a new genus, Sinclairomeryx, alongside two new species, S. tedi and S. sinclairi. "Meryx" means "ruminant" in Ancient Greek, while the other part of the name referred to William Sinclair, a paleontologist at Princeton University. The latter two species are now considered synonyms of S. riparius.[1] One specimen has been discovered in Saskatchewan, Canada, and 7 are known from Nebraska, United States. [2]
They have been discovered in the Sheep Creek Formation of Nebraska and the Cypress Hills Formation in Saskatchewan, Canada.[3]
Description[]
Aletomeryx marslandensis and A. soctti (N.S.M. and M.C.Z. specimens) and two Sinclairomeryx riparius skulls
Sinclairomeryx had a skull measuring 30 centimeters in length, and likely stood up to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) in height at the shoulder. It bore two large horns or ossicones (covered in hair and skin) on its head above the eyes. These ornaments were shaped like a "C", curving forwards. Unlike other aletomerycines, it had small bosses on the naval cavity. These structures are reminiscent of those seen in the ruminant family Dromomerycidae.
Classification[]
Sinclairomeryx has been classified as part of the Palaeomerycidae and Dromomerycidae families. Dromomerycidae was once thought to be a subfamily of Palaeomerycidae, but a study of the skull roof seperated the groups. Previously, it was classified as a member of a deer (Cervidae) subfamily, but now it is considered a member of a seperate clade. Originally, C. Frick named three species in the genus. Now, only one species of Sinclairomeryx is known, making it monotypic.[4]
Paleoecology[]
Sinclairomeryx paleoart by Joschua Knüppe
The palaeomerycids were probably deer-like, browsing on vegetation in open woodland.
Sinclairomeryx lived in central North America during the Miocene epoch, between 16 and 13.6 MBC. It lived alongside several other species of palaeomerycid and dromomerycid. Canids, early horses, and pronghorns were among the other mammals populating the Sheep Creek ecosystem at this time.[5][1]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Frick, C. (1937). Horned Ruminants of North America. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 69: 1-669. (Original description; full text available online at the AMNH Digital Library.)
- ↑ http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=42639
- ↑ Sinclairomeryx Frick, 1937 in GBIF Secretariat (2023). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2025-11-16
- ↑ D. R. Prothero and M. R. Liter. 2007. Family Palaeomerycidae. In D. R. Prothero, S. Foss (eds.), The Evolution of Artiodactyls 241-248
- ↑ https://uchytel.com/sinclairomeryx