Heteroprox
Extinct genus of deer
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Heteroprox is an extinct genus of deer from the Miocene of Europe.
| Heteroprox Temporal range: Miocene | |
|---|---|
| Skull | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Cervidae |
| Genus: | †Heteroprox Schaub, 1928 |
| Type species | |
| †Heteroprox larteti Filhol, 1891 (as Cervus larteti) | |
| Species | |
| |
Description
Heteroprox was a mid-sized deer that would have been similar in appearance to a muntjac. It would have stood about 1 m (3.3 ft) tall and weighed around 35 kg (77 lb).[1]
It had fairly long legs, and two-pronged antlers. Based on its leg proportions, it was probably semi-aquatic and lived in humid, swampy environments.[1]
Palaeoecology
Dental microwear and mesowear indicates that H. larteti consumed significant quantities of abrasive grasses.[2]