- Shrub-ox
Taxobox
name = Shrub-ox
fossil_range = early to latePleistocene
image_width = 300px
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Chordata
classis =Mammal ia
ordo =Artiodactyla
familia =Bovidae
subfamilia =Caprinae
genus = "Euceratherium"
genus_authority = Furlong & Sinclair, 1904
species = "E. collinum"
binomial = "Euceratherium collinum"
binomial_authority = Owen, 1838The shrub-ox ("Euceratherium collinum") (= "Preptoceras", "Aftonius") is an extinct genus and species of
Bovidae native toNorth America . It is a close relative of themusk-ox ."Euceratherium" was one of the first bovids to enter North America. It appeared on this continent during the early Pleistocene, long before the first
bison arrived from Eurasia. It went extinct about 11,500 years ago.Late Pleistocene shrub-ox remains are known from fossil finds spanning from northern
California to central Mexico. In the East they were distributed at least intoIllinois ."Euceratherium" was massively built and in size between a modern
American bison and amusk ox . On the basis of preserved dung pellets, it has been established that they were browsers with a diet of trees and shrubs. [cite journal
last = Kropf
first = M.
authorlink =
coauthors = Mead, J. I.; Anderson, R. S.
title = Dung, diet, and the paleoenvironment of the extinct shrub-ox ("Euceratherium collinum") on the Colorado Plateau, USA
journal = Quaternary Research
volume = 67
issue = 1
pages = 143–151
publisher =Elsevier
location =
date = January 2007
url =
doi = 10.1016/j.yqres.2006.10.002
id =
accessdate = 2008-08-19] They seem to have preferred hilly landscapes.References
* P. S. Martin: "Quaternary Extinctions". The University of Arizona Press, 1984 ISBN 0-8165-1100-4
* "Grundzüge der Faunen- und Verbreitungsgeschichte der Säugetiere", E. Thenius, 2.Auflage, Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart, 1980External links
* [http://www.saguaro-juniper.com/i_and_i/history/megafauna.html Image of Euceratherium]
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