Hayoceros

{{Short description|Extinct genus of mammals}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = Middle-Late Pleistocene

| image = Hayoceros 2.png

| taxon = Hayoceros

| authority = Skinner, 1942

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision =

  • H. barbouri
  • H. falkenbachi

}}

Hayoceros is an extinct genus of the artiodactyl family Antilocapridae, endemic to North America during the Pleistocene epoch (1.8 mya—300,000 years ago), existing for about 1.5 million years.{{Cite web |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=41039 |title=PaleoBiology Database: Dinictis, basic info |access-date=2009-08-08 |archive-date=2012-10-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013062018/http://paleodb.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=checkTaxonInfo&taxon_no=41039&is_real_user=1 |url-status=live }}

Taxonomy

Hayoceros was named by Skinner (1942) and named as a subgenus of Tetrameryx by Frick 1937; it was later raised to genus level. It was assigned to the Antilocapridae by Skinner (1942) and Carroll (1988).M. F. Skinner. 1942. The fauna of Papago Springs Cave, Arizona, and a study of Stockeros; with three new antilocaprines from Nebraska and Arizona. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 80(6):143-220R. L. Carroll. 1988. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York 1-698

Morphology

It was about {{convert|1.8|m|ft|abbr=on}} in body length, and in most respects, resembled modern pronghorns. However, in addition to the pair of forked horns located above the eyes, as in modern pronghorns, it also possessed a second, longer and unforked, pair on the back of the skull. Most likely, males used these to fight in a fashion similar to modern pronghorns, locking horns and then pushing until the opponent gives in.{{cite book |editor=Palmer, D.|year=1999 |title= The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals|publisher= Marshall Editions|location=London|page= 280|isbn= 1-84028-152-9}}

References