Kipsigicerus
Extinct genus of mammals
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kipsigicerus is an extinct genus of tragoportacin bovid that inhabited East Africa during the Middle Miocene.[2] The type species, Kipsigicerus labidotus, was discovered in Fort Ternan, Kenya, and was originally described as a species of Protragocerus. The horn cores were distinct, being highly compressed with each horn growing forward to one another. Because of the unique horn morphology, the genus Kipsigicerus was erected for this species.[3]
| Kipsigicerus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Bovinae |
| Genus: | †Kipsigicerus Thomas, 1984 |
| Species: | †K. labidotus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Kipsigicerus labidotus Gentry, 1970 | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Protragocerus labidotus | |
Palaeoecology
Though its palaeoenvironment was forested, the dental microwear patterns of K. labidotus are suggestive of the tragoportacin being a grazing herbivore with some intermediate feeding tendencies. Its premaxillary morphology was geared towards a diet of mixed feeding.[4]
