Leptauchenia
{{Short description|Extinct genus of mammals}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Automatic Taxobox
| name = Leptauchenia
| image = Leptauchenia decora1.JPG
| image_caption = Leptauchenia decora skull
| fossil_range = Late Oligocene - Early Miocene
| taxon = Leptauchenia
| authority = Leidy, 1856
| type_species = †Leptauchenia decora
| type_species_authority = Leidy, 1856
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
see text
| synonyms =
- Brachymeryx
- Cyclopidius
- Hadroleptauchenia
- Pithecistes
- Pseudocyclopidius
}}
Leptauchenia is an extinct goat-like genus of terrestrial herbivore belonging to the oreodont family Merycoidodontidae, and the type genus of the tribe Leptaucheniini. The genus was endemic to North America during the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene (33.9—16.3 mya) and lived for approximately {{Mya|33.9-16.3|million years}}.[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=42496 PaleoBiology Database: Leptauchenia, basic info]
Morphology
Because the eyes and nostrils were placed high on the head, it was long assumed that Leptauchenia was an aquatic, or semi-aquatic animal. However, because their fossils have never been found in floodplain deposits or river channels, and their abundance in fossil sand dunes, Donald Prothero suggests that they were desert-dwelling animals.Prothero, D. R., and F. Sanchez. 2005. Review of the leptauchenine oreodonts (Mammalia: Artiodacttyla). New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. According to Prothero's interpretation, the high-placed eyes and nostrils served to filter out sand while burrowing, or while digging themselves free of sand dunes.
Fossil distribution
Skeletons of Leptauchenia have been found by the thousands and in greater numbers than the related genus Sespia, it is often quoted as being the most numerous mammal in North America during the Late Oligocene.{{cite book | author = Prothero, D.R. | year = 2006 | title = After the Dinosaurs: The Age of Mammals | publisher = Indiana University Press | isbn = 0-253-34733-5}} It had high-crowned, hypsodont teeth which were used to chew gritty vegetation.
Palaeoecology
Dental microwear suggests that L. decora was a regional mixed feeder.{{Cite journal |last1=Semprebon |first1=Gina M. |last2=Rivals |first2=Florent |last3=Janis |first3=Christine M. |date=19 March 2019 |title=The Role of Grass vs. Exogenous Abrasives in the Paleodietary Patterns of North American Ungulates |journal=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |volume=7 |doi=10.3389/fevo.2019.00065 |doi-access=free |issn=2296-701X |hdl=1983/9490df22-8fe1-4b39-a0a8-2ec3d786c1db |hdl-access=free }}
Species
- L. brevifacies (syn. Pithecistes decedens)
- L. decora (type species) (syn. Hadroleptauchenia primitiva, Leptauchenia harveyi, Pithecistes breviceps, Pithecistes facies, Pithecistes tanneri, Pseudocyclopidius frankforteri)
- L. eiselyi
- L. major (syn. Brachymeryx feliceps, Cyclopidius emydinus, Cyclopidius incisivus, Cyclopidius lullianus, Cyclopidius simus, Hadroleptauchenia extrema, Hadroleptauchenia shanafeltae, L. densa, L. margeryae, L. martini, L. parasimus, Pithecistes altageringensis, Pithecistes copei)
- L. orellaensis
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q6527897}}
Category:Oligocene Artiodactyla
Category:Oligocene genus extinctions
Category:Fossil taxa described in 1856
Category:Prehistoric Artiodactyla genera
Category:Oligocene mammals of North America
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