Helmet musk ox
| Helmet musk ox | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Helmet musk ox ( symbos cavifrons ) |
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Middle to late Pleistocene | ||||||||||||
| 0.781 million years to 11,000 years | ||||||||||||
| Locations | ||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Symbos | ||||||||||||
| Osgood , 1905 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Symbos cavifrons | ||||||||||||
| Osgood, 1905 | ||||||||||||
The helmet musk ox ( Symbos = Bootherium cavifrons ) was a horn- bearing species of the Pleistocene of North America and was related to the musk ox ( Ovibos moschatus ). Symbos cavifrons is now considered by most scientists to be the only species of the genus Symbos . Bootherium bombifrons and Bootherium sargenti , which were originally described as separate species, are now generally considered females of Symbos cavifrons .
distribution
The helmet muskox existed in North America from the early to the late Pleistocene. Its remains have been found from Alaska in the north to the Mississippi in the south. The east-west extension of the distribution area extended from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Most of the finds come from Beringia and the east-central USA. The helmet muskox died out about 10,000 years ago in the course of the great extinction of species at the end of the Pleistocene.
Appearance
Basically, the helmet musk ox resembled a modern musk ox ( Ovibos moschatus ), but was significantly larger and slimmer than this. An important distinguishing feature of fossil finds is the rougher surface between the horn cores in Symbos , which are also higher on the skull than in Ovibos .
Way of life
Helmet musk ox were adapted to warmer conditions than musk ox. They probably inhabited both steppes and forest areas. They were mainly grass-eaters, but like musk oxen and many of today's forest-dwelling hornbeams, some of them also fed on leaves.
literature
- Paul S. Martin , Richard G. Klein (Eds.): Quaternary Extinctions. A Prehistoric Revolution. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson AZ 1984, ISBN 0-8165-1100-4 .
- Pere Bover, Bastien Llamas, Vicki A. Thomson, Joan Pons, Alan Cooper, Kieren J. Mitchell: Molecular resolution to a morphological controversy: the case of North American fossil muskoxen Bootherium and Symbos. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, August 2018, doi: 10.1016 / j.ympev.2018.08.008 //doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2018.08.008