Jump to content

Taurotragus arkelli

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Taurotragus arkelli
Temporal range: Pleistocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Bovinae
Genus: Taurotragus
Species:
T. arkelli
Binomial name
Taurotragus arkelli
Leakey, 1965

Taurotragus arkelli is an extinct species of eland from Eastern Africa that lived during the Pleistocene. T. arkelli was roughly 5.5 m (18 ft) long and 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in) tall, making it larger than the extant Giant eland.

Description

[edit]

Taurotragus arkelli was first described L.S.B. Leakey in 1965 from the Olduvai Gorge (Bed IV) in Tanzania. The material assigned to the species consists of a cranium and horn cores.[1]

T. arkelli is regarded as the ancestor of the modern common eland.[2] In comparison to modern eland, T. arkelli shows what are considered primitive characteristics for the genus, such as a longer braincase and horn cores slightly more upright.[3]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Leakey, L.S.B. (1965). Olduvai Gorge: Volume 1. Cambridge University Press. pp. 43–44. ISBN 052105527X.
  2. ^ Furstenburg, Deon (2016). Eland (Tragelaphus oryx). Briza Publications. pp. 173–179.
  3. ^ Bubenik, Anthony B. (2012). Horns, Pronghorns, and Antlers: Evolution, Morphology, Physiology, and Social Significance. Springer New York. p. 210. ISBN 9781461389668.