Metacervocerus

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Metacervocerus
Temporal range: Pliocene–Pleistocene
Metacervoceros philisi.jpg
Skeleton of Metacervoceros rheanus philisi
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Cervidae
Genus:† Metacervocerus
Dietrich, 1938
Species [1]
  • †Metacervocerus pardinensis Croizet and Jobert, 1828
  • †Metacervocerus philisi (Schaub, 1941)
  • †Metacervocerus punjabiensis Brown, 1926
  • †Metacervocerus rhenanus Dubois, 1904
  • †Metacervocerus shansius Teilhard de Chardin and Trassaert, 1937
Synonyms [1]
  • Pseudodama Azzaroli, 1992

Metacervocerus (also spelled Metacervoceros) is an extinct genus of deer that lived in Eurasia during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs.

Contents

Taxonomy

The genus was originally named as a subgenus of Cervus . The type species of the genus is Metacervocerus pardinensis. [2] Metacervocerus philisi is generally regarded as a synonym or subspecies of Metacervocerusrheanus. [3] [2] Metacervocerus is considered to be a member of the subfamily Cervinae, and has been posited to either be closely related to fallow deer (genus Dama) or to the genus Axis , which contains the Indian chital, among others. [3]

Description

The type species, Metacervocerus pardinensis is only known from antlers and teeth, while Metacervocerus rhenanus is known from better material including skulls. [2] Metacervocerus pardinensis has been estimated to have had a body mass of approximately 60 kilograms (130 lb), [2] while Metacervocerus philisi/rheanus has been considered comparable in size to small fallow deer. [3] The antlers of Metacervocerus are three-pointed. [2]

Distribution

Metacervocerus pardinensis is known from Europe, including France, Britain (Red Crag), Moldova, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Slovakia. [2] Metacervocerus philisi/rheanus is known from remains spanning across Europe, from Spain and France in the West to Greece and Romania in the east, but noticeably absent from the Italian peninsula. [2] [4] [5] [6] M. shansius inhabited China. M. punjabiensis hails from the Sivalik Hills of the Indian Subcontinent. [7]

Chronology

Metacervocerus pardinensis is exclusively known from the Pliocene. Metacervocerus philisi is known from remains spanning from the earliest Pleistocene 2.5 million years ago, until near the end of the Early Pleistocene around 900,000 years ago. [8]

Ecology

Dental microwear analysis as well as the shape of its skull, suggests that Metacervocerusrheanus had a browsing based diet on leaves. [9] Metacervocerusrheanus coexisted alongside other deer species in Early Pleistocene Europe, including Croizetoceros ramosus [9] and Eucladoceros ctenoides. [3] Isotopic analysis of the ecosystem of Venta Micena in southern Spain, dating to the Early Pleistocene, suggests that at this locality Metacervocerus rhenanus was a key prey species of the "European jaguar" Panthera gombaszogensis. [10] [11]

References

  1. 1 2 Metacervocerus in the Paleobiology Database
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Croitor, Roman (2018). Plio-Pleistocene deer of Western Palearctic: taxonomy, systematics, phylogeny. Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova. pp. 56–59. ISBN   978-9975-66-609-1. OCLC   1057238213.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Valli, Andrea M. F. (2024), Delson, Eric; Faure, Martine; Guérin, Claude (eds.), "New Data on Cervidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from the Villafranchian Locality of Senèze (Haute-Loire, France)", Senèze: Life in Central France Around Two Million Years Ago, Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, pp. 409–431, doi:10.1007/978-3-031-64415-3_13, ISBN   978-3-031-64414-6 , retrieved 2025-09-25
  4. ↑ Brugal, Jean-Philip; Argant, Alain; Boudadi-Maligne, Myriam; Crégut-Bonnoure, Evelyne; Croitor, Roman; Fernandez, Philippe; Fourvel, Jean-Baptiste; Fosse, Philippe; Guadelli, Jean-Luc; Labe, Bruno; Magniez, Pierre; Uzunidis, Antigone (April–June 2020). "Pleistocene herbivores and carnivores from France: An updated overview of the literature, sites and taxonomy". Annales de Paléontologie . 106 (2) 102384. Bibcode:2020AnPal.10602384B. doi:10.1016/j.annpal.2019.102384 . Retrieved 7 September 2024– via Elsevier Science Direct.
  5. ↑ Croitor, Roman; Robinson, Chris; Curran, Sabrina; Terhune, Claire; Drăgușin, Virgil; Pobiner, Briana; Popescu, Aurelian; Petculescu, Alexandru (3 March 2024). "Early pleistocene ruminants (Artiodactyla, Mammalia) from the Dacian Basin (South Romania) before and after the Pachycrocuta event: implications for hominin dispersals in Western Eurasia" . Historical Biology . 36 (3): 485–533. Bibcode:2024HBio...36..485C. doi: 10.1080/08912963.2023.2167602 . ISSN   0891-2963 . Retrieved 7 September 2024– via Taylor and Francis Online.
  6. ↑ Konidaris, George E.; Tourloukis, Vangelis; Kostopoulos, Dimitris S.; Thompson, Nicholas; Giusti, Domenico; Michailidis, Dimitrios; Koufos, George D.; Harvati, Katerina (July–August 2015). "Two new vertebrate localities from the Early Pleistocene of Mygdonia Basin (Macedonia, Greece): Preliminary results" . Comptes Rendus Palevol . 14 (5): 353–362. Bibcode:2015CRPal..14..353K. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2015.05.004 . Retrieved 7 September 2024– via Elsevier Science Direct.
  7. ↑ Croitor, Roman; Robinson, Chris (10 June 2020). "A revision of "Cervus" punjabiensis Brown, 1926 (Cervidae, Mammalia) from the Upper Siwaliks of Chandigarh, India". Quaternary International . 550: 147–158. Bibcode:2020QuInt.550..147C. doi: 10.1016/j.quaint.2020.04.020 . Retrieved 7 September 2024– via Elsevier Science Direct.
  8. ↑ Croitor, Roman (2018). Plio-Pleistocene deer of Western Palearctic: taxonomy, systematics, phylogeny. Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova. ISBN   978-9975-66-609-1. OCLC   1057238213.
  9. 1 2 Valli, Andrea M.F.; Palombo, Maria R. (2008). "Feeding behaviour of middle-size deer from the Upper Pliocene site of Saint-Vallier (France) inferred by morphological and micro/mesowear analysis". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 257 (1–2): 106–122. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2007.09.006.
  10. ↑ Palmqvist, P.; Perez-Claros, J. A.; Janis, C. M.; Figueirido, B.; Torregrosa, V.; Grocke, D. R. (2008-11-01). "Biogeochemical and Ecomorphological Inferences On Prey Selection and Resource Partitioning Among Mammalian Carnivores In An Early Pleistocene Community". PALAIOS. 23 (11): 724–737. Bibcode:2008Palai..23..724P. doi:10.2110/palo.2007.p07-073r.
  11. ↑ Mateos, A.; Hölzchen, E.; Rodríguez, J. (2024). "Sabretooths, giant hyenas, and hominins: Shifts in the niche of Early Pleistocene scavengers in Iberia at the Epivillafranchian-Galerian transition". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 634 111926. Bibcode:2024PPP...63411926M. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2023.111926.
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