Leptobos

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Leptobos
Temporal range: Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene 3.5–0.8  Ma
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Leptobos etruscus 1.JPG
Skeleton of Leptobos etruscus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Bovinae
Genus: Leptobos
Rütimeyer, 1878
Species

See text

Leptobos is an extinct genus of large bovine, known from the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene of Eurasia.

Contents

Distribution

The range of Leptobos extended from the Iberian Peninsula to northern China. [1] L. merlai is known from the Early Pleistocene of central Italy. [2]

Description

Species of Leptobos weighed on average 320 kilograms (710 lb). [3]

Evolution

The first appearance of Leptobos in Europe around 3.6-3.5 million years ago is considered to define the beginning of the Villafranchian European faunal stage. [4] Leptobos is considered to be closely related to the insular genus Epileptobos from the Pleistocene of Java [5] , and is considered to be ancestral to Bison . [1] [6] Leptobos became extinct after being replaced by their descendant Bison during the Early Pleistocene, after a period of temporal overlap. [1] [6] "Leptobos" syrticus from Libya likely belongs in a different genus. [5]

Species

Leptobos etruscus lower jaw and silhouette Leptobos.jpg
Leptobos etruscus lower jaw and silhouette

Palaeobiology

The dietary preference across the genus includes species that were browsers, [7] grazers [8] and mixed feeders. [9] Ecomorphological analysis of its humerus suggests that L. etruscus was adapted for open grassland habitats. [10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sorbelli, Leonardo; Alba, David M.; Cherin, Marco; Moullé, Pierre-Élie; Brugal, Jean-Philip; Madurell-Malapeira, Joan (June 2021). "A review on Bison schoetensacki and its closest relatives through the early-Middle Pleistocene transition: Insights from the Vallparadís Section (NE Iberian Peninsula) and other European localities". Quaternary Science Reviews. 261: 106933. Bibcode:2021QSRv..26106933S. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106933. S2CID   235527116.
  2. Cherin, Marco; D’Allestro, Vittorio; Masini, Federico (9 December 2017). "New Bovid Remains from the Early Pleistocene of Umbria (Italy) and a Reappraisal of Leptobos merlai". Journal of Mammalian Evolution . 26 (2): 201–224. doi:10.1007/s10914-017-9421-x. ISSN   1064-7554 . Retrieved 22 February 2025 via Springer Nature Link.
  3. Brugal, Jean‑Philip; Croitor, Roman (2007-06-01). "Evolution, ecology and biochronology of herbivore associations in Europe during the last 3 million years". Quaternaire. 18 (2): 129152. doi:10.4000/quaternaire.1014. ISSN   1142-2904.
  4. van Kolfschoten, T. (2013-01-01), "QUATERNARY STRATIGRAPHY | Continental Biostratigraphy", in Elias, Scott A.; Mock, Cary J. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science (Second Edition), Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 206–214, ISBN   978-0-444-53642-6 , retrieved 2021-10-31
  5. 1 2 Mead, Jim I.; Jin, Changzhu; Wei, Guangbiao; Sun, Chengkai; Wang, Yuan; Swift, Sandra L.; Zheng, Longting (December 2014). "New data on Leptobos crassus (Artiodactyla, Bovidae) from Renzidong Cave, Early Pleistocene (Nihewanian) of Anhui, China, and an overview of the genus". Quaternary International. 354: 139–146. Bibcode:2014QuInt.354..139M. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2014.02.019.
  6. 1 2 Sorbelli, Leonardo; Cherin, Marco; Kostopoulos, Dimitris S.; Sardella, Raffaele; Mecozzi, Beniamino; Plotnikov, Valerii; Prat-Vericat, Maria; Azzarà, Beatrice; Bartolini-Lucenti, Saverio; Madurell-Malapeira, Joan (February 2023). "Earliest bison dispersal in Western Palearctic: Insights from the Eobison record from Pietrafitta (Early Pleistocene, central Italy)". Quaternary Science Reviews. 301: 107923. Bibcode:2023QSRv..30107923S. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107923.
  7. Haiduc, Bogdan S.; Răţoi, Bogdan G.; Semprebon, Gina M. (2018-02-22). "Dietary reconstruction of Plio-Pleistocene proboscideans from the Carpathian Basin of Romania using enamel microwear". Quaternary International. 467: 222–229. Bibcode:2018QuInt.467..222H. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2018.01.039. ISSN   1040-6182.
  8. Zhao, LingXia; Zhang, LiZhao; Zhang, FuSong; Wu, XinZhi (2011-09-12). "Enamel carbon isotope evidence of diet and habitat of Gigantopithecus blacki and associated mammalian megafauna in the Early Pleistocene of South China". Chinese Science Bulletin. 56 (33): 3590–3595. Bibcode:2011ChSBu..56.3590Z. doi: 10.1007/s11434-011-4732-4 . ISSN   1001-6538. S2CID   129987242.
  9. Strani, Flavia; DeMiguel, Daniel; Sardella, Raffaele; Bellucci, Luca (July 2018). "Resource and niche differentiation mechanisms by sympatric Early Pleistocene ungulates: the case study of Coste San Giacomo". Quaternary International. 481: 157–163. Bibcode:2018QuInt.481..157S. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2017.08.064. S2CID   90466225.
  10. Serio, Carmela; Brown, Richard P.; Clauss, Marcus; Meloro, Carlo (9 August 2024). "Three‐dimensional geometric morphometric analyses of humerus ecomorphology: New perspectives for paleohabitat reconstruction in carnivorans and ungulates". The Anatomical Record . 308 (3): 946–974. doi:10.1002/ar.25553. ISSN   1932-8486. PMC   11791394 . PMID   39126145 . Retrieved 22 February 2025 via Wiley Online Library.