ISSN:
1573-7055
Keywords:
Lophiomerycidae
;
Tragulina
;
Pecora
;
Phylogeny
;
Eocene
;
Paleobiogeography
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Abstract A new genus and species of primitive selenodont artiodactyl, Zhailimeryx jingweni, occurs in the late middle Eocene Zhaili Member of the Heti Formation, Yuanqu Basin, Shanxi Province, China. A phylogenetic analysis of dental characters suggests that Zhailimeryx is closely related to Lophiomeryx and other lophiomerycid ruminants of Asia and Europe. Zhailimeryx and other Eocene records of Lophiomerycidae from Asia support an Asian origin for this family, followed by dispersal into Europe both before and after the Grande Coupure. Morphological evidence from Zhailimeryx suggests that ruminant artiodactyls had already undergone substantial diversification prior to the late middle Eocene, and it reopens the issue of whether the higher taxa Tragulina and Pecora are valid expressions of ruminant phylogeny.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1009433715125
Permalink
