Dicrocerus
{{Short description|Extinct genus of mammal}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = Middle - Late Miocene
| image = Dicrocerus.jpg
| image_caption = Dicrocerus skull, Natural History Museum.
| taxon = Dicrocerus
| authority = Lartet, 1837
| type_species = †Dicrocerus elegans
| type_species_authority = Lartet, 1837
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision_ref = {{cite web |title=Dicrocerus |url=https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id453888/ |website=Biolib}}
| subdivision =
- D. belometchetkense{{CN|date=February 2023}}
- D. elegans
- D. grangeri
- D. salomeae
}}
Dicrocerus elegans is an extinct species of deer found in France, Europe. Dicrocerus probably came from Asia, from the region where true deer are believed to have originated and evolved. It inhabited forests in the temperate belt and in Europe it was typical of the Miocene (15-5 million years ago).
Description
Dicrocerus stood {{cvt|70|cm|ftin}} tall at the shoulder - the same size as the modern roe deer. Its long skull sported a set of antlers with a thickened base - the first known member of cervids to possess them. The antlers were still quite primitive and had no tines; they were worn only by the males. Like modern deer, Dicrocerus shed its antlers every year. The main stem was shorter in each new set. The same is seen in modern muntjacs.{{cn|date=November 2021}}
Gallery
References
{{Reflist}}
- Benes, Josef. Prehistoric Animals and Plants. Pg. 240. Prague: Artua, 1979.
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1002774|from2=Q18646594}}
Category:Miocene mammals of Europe
Category:Prehistoric Artiodactyla genera
Category:Fossil taxa described in 1837
Category:Mammals described in 1837
{{paleo-eventoedungulate-stub}}