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|classis = ] |classis = ]
|ordo = ] |ordo = ]
|familia = ] |familia = ?]<ref name=Sanchez />
|genus = '''''Prolibytherium''''' |genus = '''''Prolibytherium'''''
|species = '''''Prolibytherium magnieri''''' |species = '''''Prolibytherium magnieri'''''
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'''''Prolibytherium''''' ("Before Libya's Beast") is an extinct ] ] native to Early ] North ], from around 16.9 to 15.97 million years ago.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=42706 |title=''Prolibytherium'' |website=] |accessdate=13 June 2014 }}</ref> '''''Prolibytherium''''' ("Before Libya's Beast") is an extinct ] ] native to Early ] North ], from around 16.9 to 15.97 million years ago.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=42706 |title=''Prolibytherium'' |website=] |accessdate=13 June 2014 }}</ref>


The 1.80 m (6 ft) long creature was related to the modern ] and ]. Unlike these, however, ''Prolibytherium'' had a set of large, ]-shaped ]s with a width of 35 cm (1 ft 2 in). These were probably used for display and fights, much like the ]s of a ].<ref name=EoDP>{{cite book |editor=Palmer, D.|year=1999 |title= The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals|publisher= Marshall Editions|location=London|page= 278|isbn= 1-84028-152-9}}</ref> The 1.80 m (6 ft) long creature would have superficially resembled an ] or a deer. Unlike these, however, ''Prolibytherium'' displayed dramatic ], in that the male had a set of large, ]-shaped ]s with a width of 35 cm (1 ft 2 in), while the female had a set of slender, horn-like ossicones.<ref name=Sanchez>Sánchez, Israel M., et al. "Sexual dimorphism of the frontal appendages of the early Miocene African pecoran Prolibytherium Arambourg, 1961 (Mammalia, Ruminantia)." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30.4 (2010): 1306-1310.</ref>

The taxonomic status of ''Prolibytherium'' remains in flux. At one time, it was described as a relative of '']'' (as a precursor to "Libytherium maurusium" (''S. maurusium''). Later, it would be regarded as a ], or either as a ], or as a basal member of ]. With the discovery and study of a female skull in 2010, ''Prolibytherium'' is tentatively regarded as a climacoceratid.<ref name=Sanchez />



It was once regarded as a ]. Specifically, it was once regarded as the ancestral form of the African species of '']'' (''S. maurusium''), when it was originally described as "''Libytherium''." ''Prolibytherium'' is now regarded as a ], due to the formation of its wide, palmate ]s.{{fact|date=February 2009}}


==References== ==References==

Revision as of 01:51, 14 June 2014

Prolibytherium
Temporal range: Early Miocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: ?Climacoceratidae
Genus: Prolibytherium
Species: Prolibytherium magnieri
(Arambourg, 1961)

Prolibytherium ("Before Libya's Beast") is an extinct artiodactyl ungulate native to Early Miocene North Africa, from around 16.9 to 15.97 million years ago.

The 1.80 m (6 ft) long creature would have superficially resembled an okapi or a deer. Unlike these, however, Prolibytherium displayed dramatic sexual dimorphism, in that the male had a set of large, leaf-shaped ossicones with a width of 35 cm (1 ft 2 in), while the female had a set of slender, horn-like ossicones.

The taxonomic status of Prolibytherium remains in flux. At one time, it was described as a relative of Sivatherium (as a precursor to "Libytherium maurusium" (S. maurusium). Later, it would be regarded as a palaeomerycid, or either as a climacoceratid, or as a basal member of Giraffoidea. With the discovery and study of a female skull in 2010, Prolibytherium is tentatively regarded as a climacoceratid.


References

  1. ^ Sánchez, Israel M., et al. "Sexual dimorphism of the frontal appendages of the early Miocene African pecoran Prolibytherium Arambourg, 1961 (Mammalia, Ruminantia)." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30.4 (2010): 1306-1310.
  2. "Prolibytherium Arambourg, 1961". GBIF.org. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  3. "Prolibytherium". Fossilworks. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
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