Leptomerycinae
| Leptomerycinae Temporal range:
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | †Leptomerycidae |
| Subfamily: | †Leptomerycinae Zittel, 1893 |
| Genera | |
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| Range of Leptomerycinae based on fossil record | |
Leptomerycinae is an extinct subfamily within the ruminant family Leptomerycidae. It contains four genera, Leptomeryx, Pronodens, Pseudoparablastomeryx, and Santuccimeryx, which lived in North America during the Middle Eocene to Middle Miocene.[1] The Leptomerycinae were primitive and ancient ruminants, resembling small deer, musk deer, or chevrotains.
The first skull attributed to the genus Santuccimeryx, described as a potential link between Leptomeryx and Pseudoparablastomeryx, was discovered at Badlands National Park in 2016 by a park intern. The skull, initially assigned to Leptomeryx elissae, was collected from the park's Oligocene-age Brule Formation and is the most complete specimen of Leptomeryx elissae known to date. The presence of both dentary and skull material revealed significant differences from the Leptomeryx genus however, which prompted the taxonomical overhaul of the subfamily and led to L. elissae being reclassified into a new genus: Santuccimeryx elissae.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ McKenna, M. C.; Bell, S. K. (1997). Classification of Mammals: Above the Species Level. Columbia University Press. p. 631. ISBN 978-0-231-11013-6.
- ^ Shreero, Mattison; Walsh, Ed; Marriott, Katherine; Prothero, Donald R. (May 2024). "A TINY DEER WITH BIG IMPLICATIONS: A NEW GENUS (SANTUCCIMERYX) FROM BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK HELPS BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN OLIGOCENE AND MIOCENE LEPTOMERYCIDAE (MAMMALIA, ARTIODACTYLA)". Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science. 102 – via ResearchGate.