Hexameryx is an extinct genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Antilocapridae, endemic to North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 during the Pliocene

Pliocene

The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...

 epoch (5.3—4.9 mya), existing for approximately .

Hexameryx was a six horned

Horn (anatomy)

A horn is a pointed projection of the skin on the head of various animals, consisting of a covering of horn surrounding a core of living bone. True horns are found mainly among the ruminant artiodactyls, in the families Antilocapridae and Bovidae...

 animal

Taxonomy

Hexameryx was named by White (1941). Its type is Hexameryx simpsoni. It was synonymized subjectively with Hexobelomeryx by Simpson (1945), Ferrusquia (1978) and Ahearn (1988). It was assigned to Antilocapridae by White (1941), Webb (1973), Carroll (1988) and Janis and Manning (1998).

Body mass

Three specimens were examined by M. Mendoza for body mass and estimated to have a weight of:

• Specimen 1: 31.1 kg (68.6 lb)
• Specimen 2: 32 kg (70.5 lb)
• Specimen 3: 36.3 kg (80 lb)

Sources

• Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic Mammals of North America: Biostratigraphy and Geochronology by Michael O. Woodburne
• Pleistocene Mammals of North America by Bjýýrn Kurtýýn and Elaine Anderson
• Florida's Fossils: Guide to Location, Identification and Enjoyment by Robin C. Brown
• Horns, Tusks, and Flippers: The Evolution of Hoofed Mammals by Donald R. Prothero and Robert M. Schoch

External links

• Hexameryx in the Paleobiology Database
  Paleobiology Database
  ' is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals, plants, and microorganisms.-History:The Paleobiology Database was founded in 2000. It has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Australian Research Council...