[PaleoMammalogy • 2025] Speleotherium logani • Logan's Austral Scrubox, A New ovibovine (Artiodactyla: Bovidae) from Muskox Cave, Eddy County, New Mexico

Speleotherium logani

White, Mead & Morgan, 2025

 Logan's Austral Scrubox  ||  Researchgate.net/publication/396444548

Artwork by Lloyd E. Logan

Abstract 

We here describe a new genus and species of ovibovine artiodactyl, Speleotherium logani, (Logan’s austral scrubox) from Muskox Cave in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, southeastern New Mexico, which has languished unrecognized since its collection in 1976. Speleotherium is one of the few new genera of Rancholabrean age (late Pleistocene) large mammals from temperate North America to be described in nearly a century. S. logani is characterized by having the skull with the horn cores nearly circular in cross section and projecting laterally from the frontal, directed slightly posteriorly, and curved slightly dorsally at their tips. The bases of the horn cores are enlarged dorsally and project medially to form a boss which does not extend to the midline of the skull. Among living and extinct bovids, the horn cores of Speleotherium are most similar to those of the muskox, Ovibos moschatus, and are very different from the horn cores of Euceratherium, an extinct genus of ovibovine from the late Pleistocene of North America to which the Muskox Cave bovid has been previously referred. The new species has the smallest tooth row length and metapodial size of the known North American ovibovines. S. logani has the most southern distribution of Pleistocene ovibovines in North America, with records from southern New Mexico, the states of Nuevo León and San Luis Potosí in Mexico, and Belize.

SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY 

Artiodactyla Owen, 1848 

 Bovidae Gray, 1821 

Caprinae Gray, 1821 

Ovibovini Gill, 1872 

Speleotherium new genus 

Speleotherium logani new species

Etymology: Speleotherium from the Greek speos for ‘cave’ and therion for ‘beast’. Specific epithet in honor of Lloyd E. Logan who led the work in Muskox Cave in 1976 and 1977. Our preferred common name for this taxon is Logan’s austral scrubox. We prefer the term “scrub”, as it refers to a vegetation community, while “shrub” references a single individual plant. 

Richard S. White, Jim I. Mead and Gary S. Morgan. 2025. Logan's Austral Scrubox, A New ovibovine (Mammalia: Artiodactyla: Bovidae) from Muskox Cave, Eddy County, New Mexico. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 101: 473–494. [October 2025]

 Researchgate.net/publication/396444548_a_new_ovibovine_Bovidae_from_Muskox_Cave_Eddy_County_New_Mexico_New_Mexico

 

[PaleoMammalogy • 2023] Tavridia gromovi • A New Antelope (Artiodactyla: Bovidae) from the Lower Pleistocene of the Taurida Cave in the Crimea

 Tavridia gromovi 

Vislobokova, 2023

 DOI: doi.org/10.1134/S0031030123040147 

наука.рф/news/

Abstract

A new form of small antelope is described from the Lower Pleistocene of the Taurida Cave in the Crimea. A new genus and species Tavridia gromovi is identified from a fragment of the skull roof with a horn core and the lower jaw. This small antelope differed from all known forms in the morphological features of the horn cores and the dental system. Based on the combination of characters, it is assigned to the tribe Antilopini (Eurasia and Africa, Middle Miocene to Recent). The discovery of T. gromovi in the Crimea testifies to the significant diversity of this group of antelopes in the middle of the Early Pleistocene.

Keywords: Tavridia gromovi gen. et sp. nov., Antilopini, Early Pleistocene, the Crimea, Taurida Cave

SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY

Family Bovidae Gray, 1821

Subfamily Antilopinae Gray, 1821

Tribe Antilopini Gray, 1821

Genus Tavridia Vislobokova, gen. nov.

Etymology. From the Taurida Cave locality.

 

Tavridia gromovi Vislobokova, sp. nov.

Etymology. Named in honor of V.I. Gromov, the outstanding Russian researcher of the Quaternary.

 

I. A. Vislobokova. 2023. A New Antelope Tavridia gromovi gen. et sp. nov. (Artiodactyla, Bovidae) from the Lower Pleistocene of the Taurida Cave in the Crimea. Paleontological Journal. 57; 463–472.  DOI: doi.org/10.1134/S0031030123040147 

 

НАЙДЕННУЮ В КРЫМУ ДРЕВНЮЮ АНТИЛОПУ НАЗВАЛИ В ЧЕСТЬ ТАВРИДЫ

https://xn--80aa3ak5a.xn--p1ai/news/novuyu-gazelepodobnuyu-antilopu-nashli-v-krymu/

[PaleoMammalogy • 2024] Hispanodorcas longdongica • First Report of Hispanodorcas (Bovidae: Antilopinae) from the Late Miocene of China

Hispanodorcas longdongica 

Wu, Wang, Liang, Guo, Sun, Liu, Duan & Chen, 2024

 vertpala.ac.cn/EN/volumn/volumn_144.shtml

 twitter.com/SomniosusW

 Asbtract 

As a small to middle-sized bovid, Hispanodorcas had previously only been found in the pan-Mediterranean region and South Asia. Its taxonomic classification at the tribe level has been a subject of debate, with possible associations to Antilopini, Reduncini, or Oiocerini. Here, we report on the first discovery of Hispanodorcas in East Asia, H. longdongica sp. nov. from the Daidian Locality in China, dating to the early Baodean age (~8-7 Ma). The new material consists of five skulls with varying states of preservation and provides the most complete osteological information on Hispanodorcas to date. It features a long, slender, and posteriorly curved horncore with a weak homonymous twist and both laterodorsal and medioventral grooves, which is characteristic of Hispanodorcas. This new species is characterized by having the smallest size amongst all known Hispanodorcas species, a weakly curved brain case in the facial region, and poorly developed posterior and anterior basilar tuberosities. These primitive characteristics suggest that H. longdongica may represent an early evolutionary stage of this genus. Furthermore, they indicate that Hispanodorcas might have directly evolved from the Gazella stock. The homonymous twist in the horncore, which aligns with Oiocerini, may be a case of homoplasy.

Cranium (A−D) and mandible (E) of Hispanodorcas longdongica from Daidian Locality, Qingyang
A. GGM GSKY 22010, the type specimen, in lateral (A1), ventral (A2), and caudal (A3) views;B. GGM GSKY 22012, in dorsal view; C. GGM GSKY 22014, in dorsal (C1) and lateral (C2) views;D. GGM GSKY 22011, in ventral (D1) and lateral (D2) views;E. GGM GSKY 22013, in lateral (E1) and occlusal (E2) views. 

Family Bovidae Gray, 1821

Subfamily Antilopinae Gray, 1821

Hispanodorcas Thomas et al., 1982

Hispanodorcas longdongica sp. nov.

 

Diagnosis: Hispanodorcas of small size (size close to living Oribi, Ourebia ourebi); horncore long and slender, posteriorly curved, slightly diverge, moderately compressed, with a weak homonymous twist (1/2 circle); laterodorsal and medioventral grooves present (with variation); post cornual fossa round and deep, supraorbital foramen oval and deep. Cranial bent weak, resulting in a small angle between the horncore and dorsal cranium; occiput low; basioccipital and basisphenoid thin with relatively weak posterior and anterior basilar tuberosities. Tympanic bullae large, ellipsoid, with poorly developed lamina vaginalis; lacrimal fossa shallow, poorly defined. Cheek teeth high-crowned, lacking ecto/entostylies.

Etymology The species name derives from the region name, Longdong, where the new specimens were discovered.

 

WU Yong, WANG Shi-Qi, LIANG Zhi-Yong, GUO Ding-Ge, SUN Bo-Yang, LIU Long, DUAN Kai and CHEN Guo-Zhong. 2024. First Report of Hispanodorcas from the Late Miocene of China.  Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 62(2); 135-155.  DOI: 10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.240123

 vertpala.ac.cn/EN/volumn/volumn_144.shtml

 twitter.com/SomniosusW/status/1789143872435875946 

   

[Mammalogy • 2018] Multi-locus Phylogeny of the Tribe Tragelaphini (Mammalia, Bovidae) and Species Delimitation in Bushbuck: Evidence for Chromosomal Speciation Mediated by Interspecific Hybridization

in Hassanin, Houck, Tshikung,et al., 2018. 

 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.08.006  

Highlights

• Two species of bushbuck: Tragelaphus scriptus in NW Africa and T. sylvaticus in SE Africa.

• The two species have 2n = 57M/58F and 2n = 33M/34F chromosomes, respectively.

• T. scriptus is related to T. angasii with mtDNA, and to T. sylvaticus with nuDNA.

 • Mitochondrial introgressive hybridization in the common ancestor of T. scriptus.

• Evidence for chromosomal speciation after an event of interspecific hybridization.

Abstract

The bushbuck is the most widespread bovid species in Africa. Previous mitochondrial studies have revealed a polyphyletic pattern suggesting the possible existence of two distinct species.

To assess this issue, we have sequenced 16 nuclear genes and one mitochondrial fragment (cytochrome b gene + control region) for most species of the tribe Tragelaphini, including seven bushbuck individuals belonging to the two divergent mtDNA haplogroups, Scriptus and Sylvaticus. Our phylogenetic analyses show that the Scriptus lineage is a sister-group of Sylvaticus in the nuclear tree, whereas it is related to Tragelaphus angasii in the mitochondrial tree. This mito-nuclear discordance indicates that the mitochondrial genome of Scriptus was acquired by introgression after one or several past events of hybridization between bushbuck and an extinct species closely related to T. angasii. The division into two bushbuck species is supported by the analyses of nuclear markers and by the karyotype here described for T. scriptus (2n= 57M/58F), which is strikingly distinct from the one previously found for T. sylvaticus (2n= 33M/34F). Molecular dating estimates suggest that the two species separated during the Early Pleistocene after an event of interspecific hybridization, which may have mediated massive chromosomal rearrangements in the common ancestor of T. scriptus.

Keywords: Spiral-horned antelopes, species complex, introgressive hybridization, chromosomes, cytogenetics

Figure 3. Bayesian divergence times (in million years ago, Mya) estimated using the nuclear concatenation of 16 genes (A) or the mitochondrial fragment (B). Divergence times were estimated with BEAST 2.4.7 (see main text for details). Taxa other than Tragelaphini were removed from the figures. Bold values at the nodes are mean ages. Grey bars and values between brackets represent the 95% Highest Posterior Density (HPD) interval.

 Alexandre Hassanin, Marlys L. Houck, Didier Tshikung, Blaise Kadjo, Heidi Davis and Anne Ropiquet. 2018. Multi-locus Phylogeny of the Tribe Tragelaphini (Mammalia, Bovidae) and Species Delimitation in Bushbuck: Evidence for Chromosomal Speciation Mediated by Interspecific Hybridization. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. In Press.  DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.08.006 

[PaleoMammalogy • 2016] Protovis himalayensis • An Early Sheep from the Pliocene of Tibet, (Bovidae, Caprini), and Origin of Ice Age Mountain Sheep

Fig. 2 Map of extinct and extant species of Ovis in Eurasia and their evolutionary relationships.

Image by WANG Xiaoming   english.cas.cn

ABSTRACT

Modern wild sheep, Ovis, is widespread in the mountain ranges of the Caucasus through Himalaya, Tibetan Plateau, Tianshan-Altai, eastern Siberia, and the Rocky Mountains in North America. In Eurasia, fossil sheep are known at a few Pleistocene sites in North China, eastern Siberia, and western Europe, but are so far absent from the Tibetan Plateau. We describe an extinct sheep, Protovis himalayensis, gen. et sp. nov., from the Pliocene of the Zanda Basin in western Himalaya. Smaller than the living argali, this new form shares with Ovis posterolaterally arched horncores and partially developed sinuses and possesses several transitional characters leading to Ovis. Protovis likely subsisted on C3 plants, which are the dominant vegetation in the Zanda area during the Pliocene. With the discovery of this new genus and species, we extend the fossil record for the sheep clade into the Pliocene of the Tibetan Plateau, consistent with our previous out-of-Tibet hypothesis. Ancestral sheep in the Pliocene were presumed adapted to high altitude and cold environments, and during the Ice Age, sheep became anatomically modern and dispersed outside of the Tibetan Plateau. Both this new fossil datum and the existing molecular phylogeny suggest that the Tibetan Plateau, possibly including Tianshan-Altai, represents the ancestral home range(s) of mountain sheep and that these basal stocks were the ultimate source of all extant species. Most sheep species survived along their Pleistocene route of dispersal, offering a highly consistent pattern of zoogeography.

Fig.1 Holotype of Protovis himalayensis, in frontal-lateral view (A) and dorsal view of horncores (B), and cross-sectional shapes at four intervals along left horn

Image by WANG Xiaoming  english.cas.cn

Fig. 3 Artist reconstruction of a male Zanda sheep, Protovis himalayensis, placed in a modern Zanda basement outcrop that was widely exposed during basin formation. 

Art by Julie Selan and photo background by WANG Xiaoming  english.cas.cn

Xiaoming Wang, Qiang Li and Gary T. Takeuchi. 2016. Out of Tibet: An Early Sheep from the Pliocene of Tibet, Protovis himalayensis, genus and species nov. (Bovidae, Caprini), and Origin of Ice Age Mountain Sheep. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.   DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2016.1169190

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F2AEE746-0A5B-4F40-89B7-8EF0C04F21FD

New Species from the Pliocene of Tibet Reveals Origin of Ice Age Mountain Sheep

Modern wild sheep, Ovis, is widespread in the mountain ranges of the Caucasus through Himalaya, Tibetan Plateau, Tianshan-Altai, eastern Siberia, and the Rocky Mountains in North America. In Eurasia, fossil sheep are known by a few isolated records at a few Pleistocene sites in North China, eastern Siberia, and western Europe, but are so far absent from the Tibetan Plateau.

In a paper published May 4 in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, paleontologists from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and La Brea Tar Pits and Museum at Los Angeles reported a new genus and species of fossil sheep from the Pliocene of Zanda Basin in Tibet. This finding extends the fossil record for the sheep into the Pliocene of the Tibetan Plateau, suggesting that the Tibetan Plateau, possibly including Tianshan-Altai, represents the ancestral home range(s) of mountain sheep and that these basal stocks were the ultimate source of all extant species, which is consistent with the Out-of-Tibet hypothesis regarding the origins of Ice Age megaherbivores.

New fossil materials were collected from IVPP locality ZD0712 in Guanjingtai, Zanda County, Tibetan Autonomous Region in western Himalaya during the 2006 and 2007 field seasons. The holotype specimen (IVPP V18928), forming the main basis of this new species, is a nearly complete male left and right horncores. With a total horncore upper curve length of 443 mm, it is similar in size to some extant species of Ovis.

This new extinct sheep, Protovis himalayensis, has a combination of features distinguishable from other species such as Ovis, Pseudois and Tossunnoria. Smaller than the living argali, it shares with Ovis posterolaterally arched horncores and partially developed sinuses and possesses several transitional characters leading to Ovis.

........

http://english.cas.cn/newsroom/research_news/201605/t20160511_162948.shtml

New species from the Pliocene of Tibet reveals origin of Ice Age mountain sheep http://phy.so/382171822 via @physorg_com

[PaleoMammalogy • 2016] Unexpected Convergent Evolution of Nasal Domes between Pleistocene Bovids, Rusingoryx atopocranion, and Cretaceous Hadrosaur Dinosaurs

Highlights

• Pleistocene Rusingoryx atopocranion are first known mammals with hollow nasal crests

• Rusingoryx ontogeny and evolution are broadly similar to lambeosaurine hadrosaurs

• The best-supported nasal crest function is phonic modification

• Combination of convergent ontogeny, evolution, and function may explain crest rarity

Summary

The fossil record provides tangible, historical evidence for the mode and operation of evolution across deep time. Striking patterns of convergence are some of the strongest examples of these operations, whereby, over time, similar environmental and/or behavioral pressures precipitate similarity in form and function between disparately related taxa. Here we present fossil evidence for an unexpected convergence between gregarious plant-eating mammals and dinosaurs. Recent excavations of Late Pleistocene deposits on Rusinga Island, Kenya, have uncovered a catastrophic assemblage of the wildebeest-like bovid Rusingoryx atopocranion. Previously known from fragmentary material, these new specimens reveal large, hollow, osseous nasal crests: a craniofacial novelty for mammals that is remarkably comparable to the nasal crests of lambeosaurine hadrosaur dinosaurs. Using adult and juvenile material from this assemblage, as well as computed tomographic imaging, we investigate this convergence from morphological, developmental, functional, and paleoenvironmental perspectives. Our detailed analyses reveal broad parallels between R. atopocranion and basal Lambeosaurinae, suggesting that osseous nasal crests may require a highly specific combination of ontogeny, evolution, and environmental pressures in order to develop.

An artist's interpretation of Rusingoryx atopocranion on the Late Pleistocene plains of what is now Rusinga Island, Lake Victoria. Scientists have found many links between Rusingoryx and hadrosaur dinosaurs -- particularly the large, hollow dome that makes a crest on top of the animal's skull.

illustration: Todd S. Marshall marshalls-art.com

Haley D. O’Brien, J. Tyler Faith, Kirsten E. Jenkins, Daniel J. Peppe, Thomas W. Plummer, Zenobia L. Jacobs, Bo Li, Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Gilbert Price, Yue-xing Feng and Christian A. Tryon. 2016. Unexpected Convergent Evolution of Nasal Domes between Pleistocene Bovids and Cretaceous Hadrosaur Dinosaurs. Current Biology. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.050

Ancient wildebeest-like animal shared 'bizarre' feature with dinosaur http://phy.so/373788929 via  @physorg_com

Ancient wildebeest-like animal had bizarre nose like dinosaur http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-05/ancient-wildebeest-like-creature-had-a-dinosaur-nose/7139440 via @ABCNews

J. Tyler Faith, Jonah N. Choiniere, Christian A. Tryon, Daniel J. Peppe and David L. Fox. 2010. Taxonomic status and paleoecology of Rusingoryx atopocranion (Mammalia, Artiodactyla), an extinct Pleistocene bovid from Rusinga Island, Kenya. Quaternary Research. 75(3); 697–707. DOI: 10.1016/j.yqres.2010.11.006

[PaleoMammalogy • 2015] Middle Miocene Bovidae from Mae Moh Basin, Northern Thailand: the First Record of the Genus Eotragus from Southeast Asia; Eotragus lampangensis

Eotragus lampangensis
Kantapon, Chaimanee, Chavasseau & Jaeger, 2015

Illustration: T. Krutchuen [1]

We describe the first bovid fossils from the late Middle Miocene (13.4-13.2 Ma) of the Mae Moh Basin of Northern Thailand, and assign the material to the new species Eotragus lampangensis sp. nov., Eotragus cf. lampangensis, and an indeterminate bovid. Our material represents the first report of Eotragus from Southeast Asia, thus greatly extending the geographic distribution of this genus across the Old World continents. While comparisons of the Southeast Asian specimens with abundant material of E. clavatus from Sansan (France) and E. aff. clavatus from Tarazona de Aragón (Spain) indicate a high degree of intraspecific variation within single species of Eotragus, the existence of two distinct taxa at Mae Moh remains a possibility. Based on previous carbon isotope studies of Mae Moh herbivore tooth enamel, Eotragus lampangensis sp. nov. foraged predominantly in an ecotone between grassland and forest.

Key words: Mammalia, Bovidae, Eotragus, Miocene, Mae Moh Basin, Thailand, Southeast Asia.

Eotragus lampangensis sp. nov. 

Etymology: From the geographic location of the Mae Moh coal mine in the Lampang Province of Northern Thailand.
Holotype: UPP MM-68, a left horn core with preserving part of the frontal bone. Type locality: Mae Moh coal mine, Northern Thailand.

Kantapon Suraprasit, Yaowalak Chaimanee, Olivier Chavasseau, and Jean-Jacques Jaeger. 2015. Middle Miocene Bovidae from Mae Moh Basin, Northern Thailand: the First Record of the Genus Eotragus from Southeast Asia. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 60(1); 67-78. doi: 10.4202/app.2012.0061 

สัตว์เคี้ยวเอื้องโบราณ (Primitive bovid) ได้ถูกค้นพบที่เหมืองแม่เมาะ จังหวัดลำปาง อายุประมาณ 13.2 -13.4 ล้านปี (สมัยไมโอซีนตอนกลาง) จากการศึกษาและวิจัยพบว่ามันเป็นชนิดใหม่ของโลก จึงตั้งชื่อให้ว่า "Eotragus lampangensis" ชิ้นส่วนที่พบนั้นมีส่วนของเขา 4 ชิ้น ฟันกรามน้อยและฟันกรามจำนวนประมาณ 10 กว่าซี่ โดยกลุ่มสัตว์เคี้ยวเอื้องโบราณนั้นมีลักษณะที่ใกล้เคียงกับแพะ แต่มีขนาดค่อนข้างเล็ก การค้นพบครั้งนี้ถือเป็นการปรากฏของสัตว์เคี้ยวเอื้อง (True bovids) ที่เก่าแก่ที่สุดเท่าที่มีการบันทึกไว้ในเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้ และยังเป็นการค้นพบสัตว์สกุลนี้ครั้งแรกในบริเวณแถบบ้านเรา เนื่องจากสัตว์กลุ่มนี้มีการค้นพบส่วนใหญ่ที่ปากีสถาน ทางยุโรปและจีนเท่านั้น และจากการศึกษาองค์ประกอบของไอโซโทปเสถียรของคาร์บอนในฟัน พบว่ามันเป็นสัตว์ที่อาศัยอยู่ในบริเวณระหว่างป่าลึกกับทุ่งหญ้าทางภาคเหนือของไทย

Reconstructed image drawn by Thita Krutchuen

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