Trigenicus

Trigenicus Temporal range: Late Eocene PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Synapsida
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	†Protoceratidae
Genus:	†Trigenicus Douglass (1903)
Species
T. profectus

Trigenicus is a small extinct genus of Artiodactyla, of the family Protoceratidae, endemic to North America from the Late Eocene epoch (Chadronian stage) 37.2—33.9 Ma, existing for approximately 3.3 million years.^[1]

Taxonomy

Trigenicus was named by Douglass (1903) and treated as a synonym of Leptotragulus by Tabrum and Nichols 2001, but without discussion of Storer 1996. Its type is Trigenicus socialis. It was assigned to Protoceratidae by Douglass (1903) and Prothero (1998).^[2][3]

Morphology

Trigenicus resembled deer. However they were more closely related to camelids. In addition to having horns in the more usual place, protoceratids had additional, rostral horns above the orbital cavity.

Body mass

A single specimen of Trigenicus were measured by M. Mendoza, C. M. Janis, and P. Palmqvist for body mass.^[4] The specimen was determined to weigh:

• Specimen 1: 39.9 kg (88 lb)

Fossil distribution

Fossils have been recovered from:

• Toadstool Park, Chadron Formation, Sioux County, Nebraska
• Peanut Peak, Chadron Formation, Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota
• Little Spring Gulch, Cook Ranch Formation, Beaverhead County, Montana
• Carnagh, Cypress Hills Formation, Saskatchewan

References