Antifer
Extinct genus of deer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Antifer is an extinct genus of large herbivorous deer belonging to the tribe Odocoileini native to South America during the Pleistocene, becoming extinct around 12,000 years ago. It was one of the largest South American deer genera, with an estimated body mass of up to 200 kilograms (440 lb), comparable to red deer, considerably exceeding the marsh deer, the largest living South American deer species in size. The genus has large antlers that could reach length of over 60 centimetres (24 in).[1]
| Antifer | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Cervidae |
| Subfamily: | Capreolinae |
| Tribe: | Rangiferini |
| Genus: | †Antifer Ameghino 1889 |
| Species | |
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Taxonomy
Antifer was named by Ameghino (1889) based on Captain Antifer in a Jules Verne novel describing his voyage of discovery in the Southern Hemisphere. It was assigned to Cervidae by Carroll (1988).[2]