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Numidocapra

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Extinct genus of mammal
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Numidocapra
Temporal range: Early - Mid Pleistocene
Numidocapra crassicornis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Alcelaphinae
Genus: †Numidocapra
Arambourg, 1949
Type species
Numidocapra crassicornis
Arambourg, 1949
Species
  • N. arambourgi
  • N. crassicornis
  • N. porrocornutus
Synonyms

Rabaticeras

Numidocapra is an extinct genus of bovid from the Pleistocene of Africa.

Taxonomy

Originally placed in the subfamily caprinae, Numidocapra is now generally classified as a member of the subfamily Alcelaphinae. Three species are considered valid. Numidocapra arambourgi was originally placed in its own genus, Rabaticeras. It was at one point considered an ancestor of the hartebeest, but this is not considered likely anymore. Another species, N. porrocornutus, was previously placed in Damaliscus.

Description

These bovids had narrow, tall skulls typical of alcelaphines. The braincase roof is sloping with a straight profile. Their horns were curved upwards and forwards at side view, with frontals slightly raised at the horn bases. Numidocapra crassicornis was the largest member of the genus, probably around the size of a wildebeest. It had long, upright horn cores that ran parallel to each other, while Numidocapra arambourgi was smaller and had diverging, twisted horns.

References

  1. "Numidocapra". Biolib.
  2. Arambourg, C. (1949). "Numidocapra crassicornis, nov. gen., nov. sp., un ovicaprine nouveau du villafranchien constantinois". Compte Rendu Sommaire des Séances de la Société Géologique de France. 13: 290–291.
  3. Geraads, D. (1981). "Bovidae et Giraffidae (Artiodactyla, Mammalia) du Pléistocène de Ternifi ne (Algérie)". Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. 4 (3): 47–86.
  4. Werdelin, Lars; Sanders, William Joseph (2010). Cenozoic Mammals of Africa. University of California Press. p. 780. ISBN 9780520257214.
Taxon identifiers
Numidocapra
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