Rusingoryx Temporal range: Pleistocene – Late
Pleistocene
Early
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Rusingoryx drinking | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Family: | Bovidae |
Subfamily: | Alcelaphinae |
Genus: | †
Rusingoryx Pickford & Thomas, 1984 |
Species: | †R. atopocranion
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Binomial name | |
†Rusingoryx atopocranion Pickford & Thomas, 1984
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Synonyms | |
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Rusingoryx is a genus of extinct alcelaphine bovid artiodactyl closely related to the wildebeest. It contains only one species, R. atopocranion, that lived on the plains of Kenya during the Pleistocene. [1] It was originally named as a species of Megalotragus.
Rusingoryx is known for its strange pointed nose with a large nasal dome. This structure represents an instance of convergent evolution with the crests of hadrosaurid dinosaurs, which were used for display and vocalization. [1] [2] [3] Studies have shown that the Rusingoryx is a specialized grazing animal, with a preference for arid grasslands. [4] [2]
The first specimens, which were poorly preserved, were described in 1983, having been taken from a site called Bovid Hill on Rusinga Island in Lake Victoria. [3] [5] Butchered bones found in 2011 with stone tools suggested that they had been killed by humans. [4] [2] In 2016, remains of an additional 26 better preserved individuals were discovered.