| Morenelaphus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Cervidae |
| Subfamily: | Capreolinae |
| Genus: | †Morenelaphus Carette 1922 |
| Species: | †M. brachyceros |
| Binomial name | |
| †Morenelaphus brachyceros | |
Morenelaphus is an extinct genus ofcapreolinedeer that lived inSouth America during thePleistocene, ranging from thePampas to southern Bolivia andNortheast Brazil. There is only a single recognised species,Morenelaphus brachyceros. It was a large deer, with some specimens estimated to exceed 200 kilograms in body mass.[1] The antlers were over 70 cm in length, and are superficially similar those of deer belonging to the subfamilyCervinae, likered deer.[2] Fossils of the genus have been recovered from theAgua Blanca,Fortín Tres Pozos andLuján Formations ofArgentina, theÑuapua Formation ofBolivia,Santa Vitória do Palmar in southernBrazil,Paraguay and theSopas Formation ofUruguay.[3]
Dental microwear analysis suggestsMorenelaphus had a mixed-feeder diet, including grass and perhaps with the occasional ingestion ofgritstone. It went extinct during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, around 12,000 years ago, possibly as a result ofclimate change and nutritional stress.[4]
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