Dorcatherium | |
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Dorcatherium naui skeleton, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Family: | Tragulidae |
Genus: | † Dorcatherium Johann Jakob Kaup, 1833 |
Type species | |
†Dorcatherium naui Kaup & Scholl, 1834 | |
Other species | |
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Dorcatherium is an extinct genus of tragulid ruminant which existed in Europe, East Africa, and the Siwaliks during the Miocene and possibly Pliocene. [1]
D. naui was partially frugivorous, the evidence for this being its dental enamel's 87Sr/86Sr, δ18OCO3, and δ13C values. [2] The dental microwear and mesowear of D. naui provides further evidence that it was a frugivorous browser. [3] At the Middle Miocene site of Maboko in Kenya, D. pigotti displays relatively high δ13C values, probably indicative of feeding in less wooded environments than modern tragulids, while the δ13C values of D. chappuisi at the same site were even higher, suggesting a preference for even more open and arid habitats than D. pigotti. [4]