Synthetoceras

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

| fossil_range = Late Miocene (Hemphillian)
{{fossil range|12.5|4.7}}

| image = Synthetoceras AMNH.jpg

| image_caption = Skull of S. tricoronatus

| taxon = Synthetoceras

| authority = Stirton, 1932

| type_species = †Synthetoceras tricornatus

| type_species_authority = Stirton, 1932

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = * S. tricornatus

S. davisorum {{small|Hulbert & Whitmore 2006}}

}}

Synthetoceras tricornatus is a large, extinct protoceratid, endemic to North America (Nebraska) during the Late Miocene, 12.5—4.7 Ma, existing for approximately {{Mya|7.8|million years}}. Fossils have been recovered from Nebraska and Texas.{{cite web |title=Synthetoceras tricornatus |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=51974 |website=fossilworks |access-date=17 December 2021}}

Description

File:Synthetoceras_BW.jpg of S. tricoronatus]]

With a length of {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=on}} and a mass of {{convert|150|–|200|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, Synthetoceras was the largest member of its family.{{cite book |editor=Palmer, D.|year=1999 |title= The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals|publisher= Marshall Editions|location=London|page= 273|isbn= 1-84028-152-9}}Janis, C. M., Theodor, J. M., & Boisvert, B. (2002). [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228948123_Locomotor_evolution_in_camels_revisited_A_quantitative_analysis_of_pedal_anatomy_and_the_acquisition_of_the_pacing_gait Locomotor evolution in camels revisited: a quantitative analysis of pedal anatomy and the acquisition of the pacing gait.] Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 22(1), 110–121. It was also the last, and had what is considered to be the protoceratids' strangest set of horns.Geist, V. (1966). The Evolution of Horn-Like Organs. Behaviour, 27(1-2), 175–214. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853966x00155 The two horns above its eyes looked fairly normal and similar to those of many modern horned mammals, but on its snout it had a bizarre, long horn with a forked tip that gave it a Y-shape. Only males had this strange horn, and they probably used it in territorial fights.

Synthetoceras

Description

References

Further reading