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Boselaphus namadicus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Boselaphus namadicus
Temporal range: 3.4–0.6 Ma
Late Pliocene-Mid Pleistocene[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Bovinae
Genus: Boselaphus
Species:
B. namadicus
Binomial name
Boselaphus namadicus
(Rutimeyer, 1878)
Synonyms

Portax namadicus

Boselaphus namadicus is an extinct species of bovid that lived in South Asia (India and Pakistan) from the Late Pliocene to the Mid Pleistocene.[1]

Taxonomy

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Boselaphus namadicus was first discovered in 1878, and was originally described as Portax namadicus. It was moved to Boselaphus less than a year later when similarities were found between it and the living nilgai.[1]

Description

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This species was larger than the modern nilgai. Its horn cores are slightly closer to the orbits compared to its living relative, with their inner keel farther inward and more to the front.[2] Their teeth are hypsodont and indicate that it was a grazer.

Fossils of B. namadicus are known from the Siwaliks and are found in association with other large herbivores such as Equus sivalensis, Stegodon, rhinoceroses, and the straight-tusked elephant. The presence of B. namadicus and these other large herbivores indicate that the environment of the area at the time was dominated by open grassland.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Siddiq, Muhammad K. (2017). "Fossils of Boselaphus (Bovini: Bovidae: Ruminantia) from Sardhok Pleistocene of Pakistan". Pakistan Journal of Zoology. 49 (6): 2327–2330. doi:10.17582/journal.pjz/2017.49.6.sc3.
  2. ^ Pilgrim, G.E. (1939). "The Fossil Bovidae of India". Mem. Geol. Surv. India, Palaeont. Indica. 26: 356.