Platygonus

Platygonus ("flat head" in reference to the straight shape of the forehead)[1] is an extinct genus of herbivorous peccaries of the family Tayassuidae, endemic to North and South America from the Miocene through Pleistocene epochs (10.3 million to 11,000 years ago), existing for about 10.289 million years .[2]

Platygonus
Temporal range: Late Miocene-Late Pleistocene
~10.3–0.011 Ma
Platygonus compressus skeleton at Harvard University
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Tayassuidae
Genus: †Platygonus
LeConte 1848
Type species
Platygonus compressus
LeConte 1848
Species

See text

Synonyms
  • Euchoerus Leidy 1853
  • Hyops LeConte 1848
  • Protochoerus LeConte 1848
  • Selenogonus Stirton 1947

Description
Restoration

Platygonus were gregarious animals and, like modern peccaries, possibly traveled in herds. At least nine known species of Platygonus are known and ranged from southern Canada to Mexico and from California to Pennsylvania. Stratigraphically, they occur throughout the Pleistocene (Calabrian), and as early as the Blancan in the Gelasian of the Pliocene. The most recent credible date obtained for some species remains is about 11,000 BP.[3] They probably appeared very similar to their closest living relative, the Chacoan peccary.

Taxonomy
Platygonus compressus skull in The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

Platygonus was named by John Lawrence LeConte in 1848 for fossils found in Pleistocene karst deposits in Illinois, which are now preserved in the Academy of National Sciences in Philadelphia.

The following species of Platygonus have been described:[2]

  • P. bicalcaratus (nomen dubium)
  • P. brachirostris
  • P. chapadmalensis
  • P. cinctus
  • P. compressus (type)
  • P. kraglievichi
  • P. marplatensis
  • P. narinoensis
  • P. oregonensis
  • P. pearcei
  • P. pollenae
  • P. scagliae
  • P. setiger
  • P. striatus
  • P. texanus
  • P. vetus

Morphology

Most Platygonus species were similar in size to modern peccaries especially giant peccary, at around 1 m (3.3 ft) in body length, and had long legs, allowing them to run well. They also had a pig-like snout and long tusks which were probably used to fend off predators.[4] They had a complex digestive system, similar to that of a modern ruminant.

Distribution

Fossils of Platygonus have been found in:[2]

Miocene
Chapadmalalan
Hemphillian
Blancan
Plio-Pleistocene
Pleistocene

References
  1. "Peccary". Idaho Museum of Natural History. November 2002. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  2. Platygonus in the Paleobiology Database
  3. Fiedal 2009, p. 21
  4. Palmer 1999, p. 269
  5. Cocha Verde at Fossilworks.org
  6. Galena at Fossilworks.org

Bibliography
  • Fiedal, Stuart (2009). "Sudden Deaths: The Chronology of Terminal Pleistocene Megafaunal Extinction". In Haynes, Gary (ed.). American Megafaunal Extinctions at the End of the Pleistocene. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer. pp. 21–37. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-8793-6_2. ISBN 978-1-4020-8792-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. ISBN 978-1-84028-152-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Further reading
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.