''Aletomeryx'' is an extinct
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
of
Artiodactyla
The even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla , ) are ungulates—hoofed animals—which bear weight equally on two (an even number) of their five toes: the third and fourth. The other three toes are either present, absent, vestigial, or pointing poste ...
, of the family
Dromomerycidae
The Dromomerycidae is an extinct family of Neogene ruminants belonging to the infraorder Pecora. Dromomerycids, known by two subfamilies, were endemic to North America from the later early Miocene up to the early Pliocene (~5 Ma), leaving no desc ...
, endemic to
North America from the early
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" ...
epoch (
Hemingfordian
The Hemingfordian on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 20,600,000 to 16,300,000 years BP. It is usually considered to overlap the late ...
stage) 20.6—16.3
Ma, existing for approximately .
Taxonomy

''Aletomeryx'' was named by Lull (1920). It is the type genus of
Aletomerycinae,
Aletomerycini. It was assigned to
Dromomerycidae
The Dromomerycidae is an extinct family of Neogene ruminants belonging to the infraorder Pecora. Dromomerycids, known by two subfamilies, were endemic to North America from the later early Miocene up to the early Pliocene (~5 Ma), leaving no desc ...
by Lull (1920) and Janis and Manning (1998); and to Aletomerycini by Prothero and Liter (2007).
[D. R. Prothero and M. R. Liter. 2007. Family Palaeomerycidae. in D. R. Prothero and S. Foss (eds.), The Evolution of Artiodactyls 241-248]
Fossil distribution
Fossils have been recovered from the
Midway Site
Midway often refers to:
*Midway (fair), a place at a fair or circus where rides, entertainment, and booths are concentrated
*Midway Atoll, also called Midway Island, a low-lying coral atoll in the central Pacific Ocean
* Naval Air Facility Midway I ...
in Florida,
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...
,
Boron, California
Boron (formerly Amargo, Baker, Borate, and Kern) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, United States. Boron is southwest of Red Rock Mountain at an elevation of . The population was 2,086 at the 2020 census, up from 2,025 ...
, and several sites in
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the so ...
and
Wyoming
Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...
.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4716516
Palaeomerycidae
Miocene Artiodactyla
Miocene mammals of North America
Prehistoric Artiodactyla genera