Antifer
| Antifer Temporal range: Late Pliocene-Late Pleistocene | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Cervidae |
| Subfamily: | Capreolinae |
| Tribe: | Rangiferini |
| Genus: | †Antifer Ameghino (1889) |
| Species: | †A. crassus |
| Binomial name | |
| Antifer crassus Rusconi, 1954 | |
Antifer is an extinct genus of large herbivorous deer of the family Cervidae endemic to South America during the Late Pliocene to Late Pleistocene, living from 3.6 Ma-11,000 years ago and existing for approximately 3.589 million years.[1] Cervids first entered the formerly isolated continent of South America during the Pliocene as part of the Great American Interchange.
It would have been preyed upon by the dire wolf, the fox-like Theriodictis and finally by humans.
Taxonomy
Antifer was named by Ameghino (1889) based on Captain Antifer in a Jules Vernes novel describing his voyage of discovery in the southern hemisphere. It was assigned to Cervidae by Carroll (1988).[2]
Fossil distribution
The fossil remains are confined to southern Brazil, central Chile, and Argentina. It is known mostly from large, non-palmated shed antlers.
References
- ↑ http://paleobackup.nceas.ucsb.edu:8110/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=checkTaxonInfo&taxon_no=42655&is_real_user=1[] Antifer: Basic info.
- ↑ R. L. Carroll. 1988. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution. W.H. Freeman and Company