Leptobos
Temporal range: Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene 3.5–0.8 Ma
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Skeleton of Leptobos etruscus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Bovinae
Genus: †Leptobos
Rütimeyer, 1878
Species

See text

Leptobos is an extinct genus of large bovine, known from the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene of Eurasia, extending from the Iberian Peninsula to northern China.[1] Species of Leptobos weighed on average 320 kilograms (710 lb).[2] The dietary preference across the genus includes species that were browsers,[3] grazers[4] and mixed feeders (both browsing and grazing).[5] The first appearance of Leptobos in Europe around 3.6-3.5 million years ago is considered to define the beginning of the Villafranchian European faunal stage.[6] Leptobos is considered to be closely related to the insular genus Epileptobos from the Pleistocene of Java[7], and is considered to be ancestral to Bison.[1][8] Leptobos became extinct after being replaced by their descendant Bison during the Early Pleistocene, after a period of temporal overlap.[1][8] "Leptobos" syrticus from Libya likely belongs in a different genus.[7]

Species

Leptobos etruscus lower jaw and silhouette

References

  1. ^ a b c Sorbelli, Leonardo; Alba, David M.; Cherin, Marco; Moullé, Pierre-Élie; Brugal, Jean-Philip; Madurell-Malapeira, Joan (June 2021). "A review on Bison schoetensacki and its closest relatives through the early-Middle Pleistocene transition: Insights from the Vallparadís Section (NE Iberian Peninsula) and other European localities". Quaternary Science Reviews. 261: 106933. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106933. S2CID 235527116.
  2. ^ Brugal, Jean‑Philip; Croitor, Roman (2007-06-01). "Evolution, ecology and biochronology of herbivore associations in Europe during the last 3 million years". Quaternaire. 18 (2): 129152. doi:10.4000/quaternaire.1014. ISSN 1142-2904.
  3. ^ Haiduc, Bogdan S.; Răţoi, Bogdan G.; Semprebon, Gina M. (2018-02-22). "Dietary reconstruction of Plio-Pleistocene proboscideans from the Carpathian Basin of Romania using enamel microwear". Quaternary International. 467: 222–229. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2018.01.039. ISSN 1040-6182.
  4. ^ Zhao, LingXia; Zhang, LiZhao; Zhang, FuSong; Wu, XinZhi (2011-09-12). "Enamel carbon isotope evidence of diet and habitat of Gigantopithecus blacki and associated mammalian megafauna in the Early Pleistocene of South China". Chinese Science Bulletin. 56 (33): 3590–3595. doi:10.1007/s11434-011-4732-4. ISSN 1001-6538. S2CID 129987242.
  5. ^ Strani, Flavia; DeMiguel, Daniel; Sardella, Raffaele; Bellucci, Luca (July 2018). "Resource and niche differentiation mechanisms by sympatric Early Pleistocene ungulates: the case study of Coste San Giacomo". Quaternary International. 481: 157–163. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2017.08.064. S2CID 90466225.
  6. ^ van Kolfschoten, T. (2013-01-01), "QUATERNARY STRATIGRAPHY | Continental Biostratigraphy", in Elias, Scott A.; Mock, Cary J. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science (Second Edition), Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 206–214, ISBN 978-0-444-53642-6, retrieved 2021-10-31
  7. ^ a b Mead, Jim I.; Jin, Changzhu; Wei, Guangbiao; Sun, Chengkai; Wang, Yuan; Swift, Sandra L.; Zheng, Longting (December 2014). "New data on Leptobos crassus (Artiodactyla, Bovidae) from Renzidong Cave, Early Pleistocene (Nihewanian) of Anhui, China, and an overview of the genus". Quaternary International. 354: 139–146. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2014.02.019.
  8. ^ a b Sorbelli, Leonardo; Cherin, Marco; Kostopoulos, Dimitris S.; Sardella, Raffaele; Mecozzi, Beniamino; Plotnikov, Valerii; Prat-Vericat, Maria; Azzarà, Beatrice; Bartolini-Lucenti, Saverio; Madurell-Malapeira, Joan (February 2023). "Earliest bison dispersal in Western Palearctic: Insights from the Eobison record from Pietrafitta (Early Pleistocene, central Italy)". Quaternary Science Reviews. 301: 107923. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107923.

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