Sinomegaceros
Sinomegaceros is an extinct genus of deer known from the Late Pliocene/Early Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene of Central and East Asia. It is considered to be part of the group of "giant deer", with a close relationship to Megaloceros. Many members of the genus are noted for their distinctive palmate antler brow tines.
Taxonomy
The first species of the genus S. ordosianus and S. pachyosteus were named by pioneering Chinese paleontologist C. C. Young as species of Cervus in 1932 for material from Zhoukoudian. In a review of the paper the subsequent year Dietrich created the name Sinomegaceros as a subgenus of Cervus to house the species, with S. pachyosteus as the type species. Due to the fact that the name was not published in a formal research paper, it was not widely used for several decades after publication. The species S. yabei was named in 1938. In the following decades various researchers considered it a subgenus of Megaloceros, or a distinct genus. Several named species are likely to be junior synonyms.Named species include:
- Sinomegaceros tadzhikistanis, known from the Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene of Tajikistan
- Sinomegaceros konwanlinensis, from Gongwaling in Northern China, dating to the Early Pleistocene, around 1.6 million years ago.
- Sinomegaceros fabellatus, known from the late Early Pleistocene-Early Middle Pleistocene of China
- Sinomegaceros ''sangwonensis known from the mid-Middle Pleistocene of China
- Sinomegaceros luochuanensis known from the late Middle Pleistocene of China
- Sinomegaceros baotouensis known from the Late Pleistocene of China
- Sinomegaceros pachyosteus known from the early Middle Pleistocene to the late Middle Pleistocene or Late Pleistocene of China
- Sinomegaceros ordosianus, known from the late Middle Pleistocene-Late Pleistocene of China and small adjacent areas of Russian Siberia
- Sinomegaceros yabei late Middle Pleistocene-Late Pleistocene of Japan
Sinomegaceros has often been considered closely related to other genera "giant deer", like Praemegaceros and Megaloceros, as part of the tribe Megacerini.'' Mitochondrial genomes from Late Pleistocene Chinese and Siberian Sinomegaceros indicate that the mitochondrial diversity of the Irish elk is nested within the diversity of Sinomegaceros, suggesting that the two lineages interbred after their initial split. This interbreeding may have occurred in the contact region between the two groups in Siberia. Relationships of Sinomegaceros mitochondrial genomes after Xiao, et al. 2023
Description
Species of Sinomegaceros were large deer, with estimated body masses for Chinese Pleistocene species ranging from in S. ''pachyosteus to in S. konwanlinensis, with S. ordosianus estimated at. Remains attributed to the genus in Central Asia are even larger, with the body mass of S. tadzhikistanis being estimated at, while an indeterminate species from the Pleistocene locality of Lakhuti 2 in Tajikistan was estimated, making it one of the largest deer known.supplemental material The antlers have palmate brow tines, with the palmation generally orientated transversely and vertically. The mandibles of Sinomegaceros, like those of Megaloceros giganteus, are robust and display pachyostosis with the robustness being the most extreme in S. pachyosteus''.Ecology
S. yabei and S. pachyosteus are suggested to have been grazers.In Late Pleistocene northern China, Sinomegaceros ordosianus co-occurred alongside Chinese Palaeoloxodon elephants, Merck's rhinoceros, the woolly rhinoceros the bufallo Bubalus wansijocki, aurochs, the Asiatic wild ass, goitered gazelles the camel Camelus knoblochi, cave hyenas, tigers, and Przewalski's horse-like horses.
In Middle-Late Pleistocene Japan, S. yabei lived alongside the elephant Palaeoloxodon naumanni, sika deer, Japanese serow, moose, Siberian musk deer, the extinct steppe bison brown bears, black bears, wolves, and cave lions.