Rusingoryx

{{Short description|Extinct genus of even-toed ungulates}}

{{Speciesbox

| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|0.075|0.070}}Early Pleistocene – Late Pleistocene

| image = Rusingoryx drinking.png

| image_caption = Rusingoryx drinking

| genus = Rusingoryx

| parent_authority = Pickford & Thomas, 1984

| species = atopocranion

| authority = Pickford & Thomas, 1984

| synonyms = *Megalotragus atopocranion Gentry, 2010 (Pickford & Thomas, 1984)

}}

Rusingoryx is a genus of extinct alcelaphine bovid artiodactyl closely related to the wildebeest. It contains only one species, R. atopocranion, that lived on the plains of Kenya during the Pleistocene. It was originally named as a species of Megalotragus.

Rusingoryx is known for its strange pointed nose with a large nasal dome. This structure represents an instance of convergent evolution with the crests of hadrosaurid dinosaurs, which were used for display and vocalization.{{cite journal |author=Haley D. O'Brien |author2=J. Tyler Faith |author3=Kirsten E. Jenkins |author4=Daniel J. Peppe |author5=Thomas W. Plummer |author6=Zenobia L. Jacobs |author7=Bo Li |author8=Renaud Joannes-Boyau |author9=Gilbert Price |author10=Yue-xing Feng |author11=Christian A. Tryon |year=2016 |title=Unexpected Convergent Evolution of Nasal Domes between Pleistocene Bovids and Cretaceous Hadrosaur Dinosaurs |journal=Current Biology |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=503–508 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.050 |pmid=26853365|doi-access=free }}{{cite news|title=Revealed: Rusingoryx, an ancient wildebeest cousin with bizarre dinosaur traits|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/feb/05/revealed-rusingoryx-an-ancient-wildebeest-cousin-with-bizarre-dinosaur-traits|access-date=28 March 2016|work=The Guardian|date=5 February 2016}}{{cite news|title=Pleistocene Mammal Rusingoryx atopocranion Had Dinosaur-Like 'Nose'|url=http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/pleistocene-mammal-rusingoryx-atopocranion-dinosaur-like-nose-03616.html|access-date=28 March 2016|work=sci-news.com|date=5 February 2016}} Studies have shown that the Rusingoryx is a specialized grazing animal, with a preference for arid grasslands.{{cite journal | author = Faith J. Tyler|display-authors=etal| year = 2011 | title = Taxonomic status and paleoecology of Rusingoryx atopocranion (Mammalia, Artiodactyla), an extinct Pleistocene bovid from Rusinga Island, Kenya | url = http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/catryon/files/faith_etal_2011.pdf | journal = Quaternary Research | volume = 75 | issue = 3| pages = 697–707 | doi=10.1016/j.yqres.2010.11.006|bibcode=2011QuRes..75..697F |s2cid=17630698 }} Rusingoryx was migratory.{{Cite journal |last=O’Brien |first=Kaedan |last2=Podkovyroff |first2=Katya |last3=Fernandez |first3=Diego P. |last4=Tryon |first4=Christian A. |last5=Cerling |first5=Thure E. |last6=Ashioya |first6=Lilian |last7=Faith |first7=J. Tyler |date=27 May 2024 |title=Limited herbivore migration during the Last Glacial Period of Kenya |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-024-02413-9 |journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution |language=en |volume=8 |issue=6 |pages=1191–1198 |doi=10.1038/s41559-024-02413-9 |issn=2397-334X |access-date=30 June 2024|url-access=subscription }}

The first specimens, which were poorly preserved, were described in 1983, having been taken from a site called Bovid Hill on Rusinga Island in Lake Victoria.Gentry A. W. (2010) Bovidae, Cenozoic Mammals of Africa, 747-803 Butchered bones found in 2011 with stone tools suggested that they had been killed by humans.{{cite journal | author = Faith J. Tyler|display-authors=etal| year = 2011 | title = Taxonomic status and paleoecology of Rusingoryx atopocranion (Mammalia, Artiodactyla), an extinct Pleistocene bovid from Rusinga Island, Kenya | url = http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/catryon/files/faith_etal_2011.pdf | journal = Quaternary Research | volume = 75 | issue = 3| pages = 697–707 | doi=10.1016/j.yqres.2010.11.006|bibcode=2011QuRes..75..697F |s2cid=17630698 }} In 2016, remains of an additional 26 better preserved individuals were discovered.