''Trigenicus'' 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 small
artiodactyl
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 ...
in the family
Protoceratidae
Protoceratidae is an extinct family of herbivorous North American artiodactyls (even-toed ungulates) that lived during the Eocene through Pliocene at around 46.2—4.9 Mya, existing for about 41 million years.
Classification
Protoceratidae wa ...
, endemic to
North America. It lived from the
Late Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "d ...
37.2—33.9
Ma, existing for approximately .
PaleoBiology Database: ''Trigenicus'', basic info
/ref> ''Trigenicus'' resembled deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the ...
, but were more closely related to camelids
Camelids are members of the biological family Camelidae, the only currently living family in the suborder Tylopoda. The seven extant members of this group are: dromedary camels, Bactrian camels, wild Bactrian camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, ...
.
Fossil distribution
Fossils have been recovered from:
*Toadstool Park, Chadron Formation, Sioux County, Nebraska
Sioux County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 1,311. Its county seat is Harrison.
Sioux County is included in the Scottsbluff, NE Micropolitan Statistical Area.
In the Nebrask ...
*Peanut Peak, Chadron Formation, Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota
Oglala Lakota County (known as Shannon County until May 2015) is a county in southwestern South Dakota, United States. The population was 13,672 at the 2020 census. Oglala Lakota County does not have a functioning county seat; Hot Springs in ne ...
*Little Spring Gulch, Cook Ranch Formation
The Cook Ranch Formation is a geologic formation in Montana. It preserves fossils dating back to the Paleogene period.
See also
* List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Montana
This article contains a list of fossil-bearing stratigraphi ...
, Beaverhead County, Montana
Beaverhead County is the largest county by area in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,371. Its county seat is Dillon. The county was founded in 1865.
Much of the perimeter of the county is the Continental ...
*Carnagh, Cypress Hills Formation, 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 ...
References
Eocene even-toed ungulates
Eocene mammals of North America
Fossil taxa described in 1903
Prehistoric even-toed ungulate genera
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