Synthetoceras

Synthetoceras Temporal range: Late Miocene (Hemphillian) 12.5–4.7  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Skull of S. tricornatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	† Protoceratidae
Genus:	† Synthetoceras Stirton, 1932
Type species
†Synthetoceras tricornatus Stirton, 1932
Species
†S. tricornatusStirton, 1932 †S. davisorumHulbert & Whitmore 2006

Synthetoceras is an extinct genus of large protoceratid that was endemic to North America during the Late Miocene (12.5-4.7 million years ago), existing for approximately 7.8 million years. Fossils have been recovered from Nebraska and Texas. ^[1] Two species have been described: S. tricornatus (the type species) and S. davisorum.

Description

Life restoration of S. tricornatus

With a length of 2 m (6.6 ft) and a mass of 150–200 kg (330–440 lb), Synthetoceras was the largest member of its family. ^{[2] [3]} It was also the last, and had what is considered to be the protoceratids' strangest set of horns. ^[4] The two horns above its eyes looked fairly normal and similar to those of many modern horned mammals, but on its snout it had a bizarre, long horn with a forked tip that gave it a Y-shape. Only males had this strange horn, and they probably used it in territorial fights. ^[2]

References

1. "Synthetoceras tricornatus". fossilworks. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
2. Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 273. ISBN   1-84028-152-9.
3. Janis, C. M., Theodor, J. M., & Boisvert, B. (2002). Locomotor evolution in camels revisited: a quantitative analysis of pedal anatomy and the acquisition of the pacing gait. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 22(1), 110–121.
4. Geist, V. (1966). The Evolution of Horn-Like Organs. Behaviour, 27(1-2), 175–214. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853966x00155

Further reading

• R. C. Hulbert and F. C. Whitmore. 2006. Late Miocene mammals from the Mauvilla Local Fauna, Alabama. Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History 46(1):1-28
• Prothero D.R., 1998. Protoceratidae. pp. 431–438 in C.M. Janis, K.M. Scott, and L.L. Jacobs (eds.) Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.