Taurotragus arkelli
| Taurotragus arkelli Temporal range: Pleistocene
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Bovinae |
| Genus: | Taurotragus |
| Species: | †T. arkelli
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| Binomial name | |
| †Taurotragus arkelli Leakey, 1965
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Taurotragus arkelli is an extinct species of eland from Eastern Africa that lived during the Pleistocene. T. arkelli was roughly 5.5 m (18 ft) long and 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in) tall, making it larger than the extant Giant eland.
Description
[edit]Taurotragus arkelli was first described L.S.B. Leakey in 1965 from the Olduvai Gorge (Bed IV) in Tanzania. The material assigned to the species consists of a cranium and horn cores.[1]
T. arkelli is regarded as the ancestor of the modern common eland.[2] In comparison to modern eland, T. arkelli shows what are considered primitive characteristics for the genus, such as a longer braincase and horn cores slightly more upright.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ Leakey, L.S.B. (1965). Olduvai Gorge: Volume 1. Cambridge University Press. pp. 43–44. ISBN 052105527X.
- ^ Furstenburg, Deon (2016). Eland (Tragelaphus oryx). Briza Publications. pp. 173–179.
- ^ Bubenik, Anthony B. (2012). Horns, Pronghorns, and Antlers: Evolution, Morphology, Physiology, and Social Significance. Springer New York. p. 210. ISBN 9781461389668.