Micromeryx
{{Short description|Extinct genus of deer}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{fossil range|Miocene}}
| image = Zwerghirsch-Micromeryx-Skelett.jpg
| image_caption = Male Micromeryx skeleton, Museum am Löwentor, Stuttgart, Germany
| taxon = Micromeryx
| authority = Lartet, 1851
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = M. flourensianus Lartet 1851
M. azanzae Sánchez and Morales 2008
M.? eiselei Aiglstorfer at al. 2017Manuela Aiglstorfer, Loïc Costeur, Bastien Mennecart, Elmar P. J. Heizmann: [http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0185679 Micromeryx? eiselei — A new moschid species from Steinheim am Albuch, Germany, and the first comprehensive description of moschid cranial material from the Miocene of Central Europe], in: PLOS One vom 16. Oktober 2017, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185679Aiglstorfer at al.: [http://morphomuseum.com/Articles/sendFile/53/published_article 3D models related to the publication: Micromeryx? eiselei - a new moschid species from Steinheim am Albuch, Germany, and the first comprehensive description of moschid cranial material from the Miocene of Central Europe, PDF]
}}
Micromeryx is an extinct genus of musk deer that lived during the Miocene epoch (about 16-8 million years ago).{{Cite journal|last1=Mennecart|first1=Bastien|last2=Aiglstorfer|first2=Manuela|last3=Göhlich|first3=Ursula|last4=Daxner-Höck|first4=Gudrun|date=2019|title=On the oldest Mongolian moschids (Mammalia, Ruminantia) and the early moschid evolution|url=https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2019/2670-oldest-mongolian-moschidae|journal=Palaeontologia Electronica|volume=22|issue=2|pages=1–17|doi=10.26879/959|doi-access=free}} Fossil remains were found in Europe and Asia.{{Cite journal |last1=Sánchez |first1=I. M. |last2=Morales |first2=J. |year=2008 |title=Micromeryx azanzae sp. nov. (Ruminantia: Moschidae) from the middle-upper Miocene of Spain, and the first description of the cranium of Micromeryx |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=873–885 |doi=10.1671/0272-4634(2008)28[873:MASNRM]2.0.CO;2}} The earliest record (MN4) of the genus comes from the Sibnica 4 paleontological site near Rekovac in Serbia.Alaburić, Sanja; Radović, Predrag (2016). [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311921086_An_early_record_of_the_moschid_genus_Micromeryx_Mammalia_Ruminantia “An early record of the moschid genus Micromeryx (Mammalia, Ruminantia)”]. In: Marković, Z., Milivojević, M. (Eds.), Life on the shore – geological and paleontological research in the Neogene of Sibnica and vicinity (Levač basin, Central Serbia). Part 1. Special Issue of the Natural History Museum in Belgrade: 141–148.
Characteristics
This animal was very similar to the modern musk deer (Moschus moschiferus) of East Asia. However, Micromeryx (its name means "tiny ruminant") was much smaller: it perhaps reached 5 kilograms. Teeth were very similar to those of the extant Cephalophus but more primitive. Like in the present moschids, the males of these animals were equipped with long upper canines, protruding from the mouth when it was closed. The body was slender and short, while the legs were extremely elongated.
Systematics
Image:Zwerghirsch-Micromeryx-Rekonstruktion.jpg
Micromeryx was a primitive representative of the moschids, a group of primitive ruminants related to deer and cattle. They had a remarkable expansion during the Miocene and Pliocene and are currently represented by a few species, such as the aforementioned Moschus moschiferus. A somewhat similar animal was Hispanomeryx, which lived in about the same area as Micromeryx but went extinct during the Middle Miocene.
Distribution
Micromeryx probably originated in Western Asia and then spread to Europe and East Asia. Many fossils of this animal have been found in a vast geographical area ranging from Anatolia (Turkey){{Cite journal |last1=Aiglstorfer |first1=Manuela |last2=Mayda |first2=Serdar |last3=Heizmann |first3=Elmar P.J. |date=March–April 2018 |title=First record of late middle Miocene Moschidae from Turkey: Micromeryx and Hispanomeryx from Catakbağyaka (Muğla, SW Turkey) |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1631068317301124 |journal=Comptes Rendus Palevol |language=en |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=178–188 |doi=10.1016/j.crpv.2017.10.001 |bibcode=2018CRPal..17..178A |access-date=15 November 2024 |via=Elsevier Science Direct}} to Spain and China.
Palaeoecology
Fruit was an important component of the diet of M. flourensianus,{{Cite journal |last1=Aiglstorfer |first1=Manuela |last2=Bocherens |first2=Hervé |last3=Böhme |first3=Madelaine |date=18 February 2014 |title=Large mammal ecology in the late Middle Miocene Gratkorn locality (Austria) |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12549-013-0145-5 |journal=Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments |language=en |volume=94 |issue=1 |pages=189–213 |doi=10.1007/s12549-013-0145-5 |issn=1867-1594 |access-date=10 November 2024 |via=Springer Nature Link}} whereas the contemporary. M.? eiselei was a leaf browser.{{Cite journal |last1=Aiglstorfer |first1=Manuela |last2=Semprebon |first2=Gina M. |date=9 May 2019 |title=Hungry for fruit? – A case study on the ecology of middle Miocene Moschidae (Mammalia, Ruminantia) |url=https://bioone.org/journals/geodiversitas/volume-41/issue-1/geodiversitas2019v41a10/Hungry-for-fruit--A-case-study-on-the-ecology/10.5252/geodiversitas2019v41a10.full |journal=Geodiversitas |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=385 |doi=10.5252/geodiversitas2019v41a10 |issn=1280-9659 |access-date=15 November 2024 |via=BioOne Digital Library}} M. flourensianus was preyed on by Proputorius sansaniensis, Taxodon sansaniensis, and Martes sansaniensis.{{Cite journal |last1=Aiglstorfer |first1=Manuela |last2=Heizmann |first2=Elmar P. J. |last3=Peigné |first3=Stéphane |date=23 February 2019 |title=Who killed Micromeryx flourensianus ? A case study of taphonomy and predation on ruminants in the middle Miocene of France |url=https://www.scup.com/doi/full/10.1111/let.12322 |journal=Lethaia |language=en |volume=52 |issue=3 |pages=429–444 |doi=10.1111/let.12322 |issn=0024-1164 |access-date=20 December 2024 |via=Scandinavian University Press}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- Sánchez, I. M., and J. Morales. 2006. [http://estudiosgeol.revistas.csic.es/index.php/estudiosgeol/article/view/53 Distributión biocronológica de los Moschidae (Mammalia; Ruminantia) en España]. Estudios Geológicos 62:533–546.
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3856983}}
Category:Prehistoric musk deer