''Leptauchenia'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

-like

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of terrestrial

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat ...

belonging to the oreodont

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Merycoidodontidae, and the type genus of the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

Leptaucheniini. The genus was endemic to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

during the

Late Oligocene The Chattian is, in the geologic timescale The geologic time scale or geological time scale (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the pro ...

Early Miocene The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages: the Aquitanian age, Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages. The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 annum, Ma to ...

(33.9—16.3 mya) and lived for approximately .

Morphology

Because the eyes and nostrils were placed high on the head, it was long assumed that ''Leptauchenia'' was an aquatic, or semi-aquatic animal. However, because their fossils have never been found in floodplain deposits or river channels, and their abundance in fossil sand dunes,

Donald Prothero Donald Ross Prothero (February 21, 1954) is an American geologist, paleontologist, and author who specializes in mammalian paleontology and magnetostratigraphy, a technique to date rock layers of the Cenozoic era and its use to date the climate ...

suggests that they were desert-dwelling animals. According to Prothero's interpretation, the high-placed eyes and nostrils served to filter out sand while burrowing, or while digging themselves free of sand dunes.

Fossil distribution

Skeletons of ''Leptauchenia'' have been found by the thousands and in greater numbers than the related genus '' Sespia'', it is often quoted as being the most numerous mammal in North America during the Late Oligocene. It had high-crowned, hypsodont teeth which were used to chew gritty vegetation.

Palaeoecology

Dental microwear suggests that ''L. decora'' was a regional mixed feeder.

Species

*''L. brevifacies'' (syn. ''Pithecistes decedens'') *''L. decora'' (type species) (syn. ''Hadroleptauchenia primitiva'', ''Leptauchenia harveyi'', ''Pithecistes breviceps'', ''Pithecistes facies'', ''Pithecistes tanneri'', ''Pseudocyclopidius frankforteri'') *''L. eiselyi'' *''L. major'' (syn. ''Brachymeryx feliceps'', ''Cyclopidius emydinus'', ''Cyclopidius incisivus'', ''Cyclopidius lullianus'', ''Cyclopidius simus'', ''Hadroleptauchenia extrema'', ''Hadroleptauchenia shanafeltae'', ''L. densa'', ''L. margeryae'', ''L. martini'', ''L. parasimus'', ''Pithecistes altageringensis'', ''Pithecistes copei'') *''L. orellaensis''

References

Oreodonts Oligocene Artiodactyla Oligocene genus extinctions White River Fauna Fossil taxa described in 1856 Prehistoric Artiodactyla genera Oligocene mammals of North America {{paleo-eventoedungulate-stub