Taxonomic status and paleoecology of Rusingoryx atopocranion (Mammalia, Artiodactyla), an extinct Pleistocene bovid from Rusinga Island, Kenya
Taxonomic status and paleoecology of Rusingoryx atopocranion (Mammalia, Artiodactyla), an extinct Pleistocene bovid from Rusinga Island, Kenya
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Rusingoryx atopocranion（哺乳动物、偶蹄目）的分类地位和古生态学，一种来自肯尼亚鲁辛加岛的已灭绝的更新世牛科动物
DOI：
10.1016/j.yqres.2010.11.006
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发表时间：
2011
影响因子：
2.3
通讯作者：
David L. Fox
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
J. Tyler Faith;J. Choiniere;C. Tryon;D. Peppe;David L. Fox
Rusingoryx atopocranion是一种鲜为人知的已灭绝的alcelaphine bovid，在肯尼亚Rusinga岛与中石器时代文物相关的更新世沉积物中有记录。根据最初的描述，Rusingoryx被归入巨角兽，其中包括已灭绝的巨型角马，基于它的头骨结构。对Rusinga岛更新世沉积物的重新调查发现了大量Rusingoryx标本，为分类和古生态学提供了新的见解。本研究(1)综述了关于Rusingoryx分类地位的形态学和系统发育证据；(2)评价了Rusingoryx的古生态和饮食习性。形态学和系统发育资料表明，Rusingoryx与Megalotragus是不同的；它们可能在上新世晚期有一个共同的祖先。生态形态学和中磨损分析指出了一种特殊的放牧适应，它与适应干旱的有蹄类动物的联系表明了对干旱草原的偏好。Rusingoryx作为一个有效的分类实体的确认，以及Rusinga岛上其他已灭绝的分类群（包括Megalotragus）的存在，表明东非晚第四纪有蹄类生物地理和灭绝模式日益复杂。Rusingoryx似乎是一个适应干旱的动物群落的一部分，这个群落可能一直存在于东非，直到全新世开始。
Rusingoryx atopocranion is a poorly known extinct alcelaphine bovid, documented in Pleistocene deposits associated with Middle Stone Age artifacts on Rusinga Island, Kenya. Following its initial description, Rusingoryx was subsumed into Megalotragus, which includes the extinct giant wildebeests, on the basis of its cranial architecture. Renewed investigations of the Pleistocene deposits on Rusinga Island recovered a large sample of Rusingoryx specimens that provide new taxonomic and paleoecological insight. This study (1) reviews the morphological and phylogenetic evidence concerning the taxonomic status of Rusingoryx and (2) evaluates its paleoecology and dietary habits. The morphology and phylogenetic data indicate that Rusingoryx is distinct from Megalotragus; they likely shared a common ancestor in the late Pliocene. Ecomorphology and mesowear analysis point to a specialized grazing adaptation, and its association with arid-adapted ungulates suggests a preference for arid grasslands. The confirmation of Rusingoryx as a valid taxonomic entity, together with the presence of other extinct taxa (including Megalotragus) on Rusinga Island, suggests an increasingly complex pattern of ungulate biogeography and extinctions in the late Quaternary of East Africa. Rusingoryx appears to have been part of an arid-adapted faunal community that potentially persisted in East Africa until the onset of the Holocene.