Michenia

Michenia
Temporal range: Oligocene–Early Pliocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Synapsida
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Camelidae
Tribe: Camelini
Genus: Michenia
Frick and Taylor (1971)
Species
  • M. agatensis (type species)
  • M. deschutensis
  • M. exilis
  • M. yavapaiensis

Michenia is an extinct genus of terrestrial herbivore in the family Camelidae, endemic to North America from the Oligocene through Pliocene 24.8—4.9 mya, existing for approximately 19.9 million years.[1]

Taxonomy

Michenia was named by Frick and Taylor (1971). Its type is Michenia agatensis. It was assigned to Camelidae by Frick and Taylor (1971) and Carroll (1988).[2][3]

Morphology

Two specimens were examined for estimated body mass by M. Mendoza, C. M. Janis, and P. Palmqvist. These specimens were estimated to weigh:

Fossil distribution

Fossil distribution ranged from California to Texas to Alberta, Canada and to Idaho and Nebraska.

References

  1. PaleoBiology Database: Michenia, basic info
  2. C. Frick and B. E. Taylor. 1971. American Museum Novitates 2444
  3. R. L. Carroll. 1988. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York 1-698
  4. M. Mendoza, C. M. Janis, and P. Palmqvist. 2006. Estimating the body mass of extinct ungulates: a study on the use of multiple regression. Journal of Zoology 270(1):90-101
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.