Ticholeptus zygomaticus Cope 1878 (oreodont)

Mammalia - Artiodactyla - Merycoidodontidae

Alternative combination: Merychyus zygomaticus

Synonyms: Merychyus elegans smithi Douglass 1903, Merychyus smithi Douglass 1903, Merycochoerus obliquidens Cope 1886, Poatrephes paludicola Douglass 1903, Promerycochoerus obliquidens Cope 1886, Ticholeptus hypsodus Loomis 1924, Ticholeptus hypsodus leadorensis Schultz and Falkenbach 1968, Ticholeptus obliquidens Cope 1886, Ticholeptus rileyi Schultz and Falkenbach 1941, Ticholeptus smithi Douglass 1903, Ticholeptus zygomaticus smithi Douglass 1903, Ustatochoerus schrammi Schultz and Falkenbach 1941

Full reference: E. D. Cope. 1878. Descriptions of new extinct Vertebrata from the Upper Tertiary and Dakota Formations. Bulletin of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories 4(2):379-396

Belongs to Ticholeptus according to M. S. Stevens et al. 2023

See also Black 1961, Cope 1878, Cope 1884, Cope 1886, Douglass 1903, Douglass 1906, Douglass 1907, Hay 1902, Kelly and Lander 1988, Lander 1998, Loomis 1920, Loomis 1924, Morea 1981, Schultz and Falkenbach 1941, Schultz and Falkenbach 1968, Stevens and Stevens 2007, Tabrum and Nichols 2001 and Thorpe 1937

Sister taxa: Ticholeptus bluei, Ticholeptus calimontanus

Type specimens:

  • Ticholeptus zygomaticus: AMNH 8112, a partial skull (Crushed skull (lacking nasals, frontals, and a portion of the occipital region) with I1-M3 (P1 br.) and mandible with i1-m3)
  • Merychyus smithi:
  • Merycochoerus obliquidens: AMNH 8192, a mandible (Right ramus with /c (rt.)-m3, (p1-p2 br.)).
  • Poatrephes paludicola: CM 845, a skull (Crushed skull (lacking nasals and right zygomatic arch) with I1-P1 alv. and P2-M3 (P2 and M1 br.)). Its type locality is Flint Creek Beds, which is in a Barstovian terrestrial horizon in Montana.
  • Ticholeptus hypsodus: AMNH 14057, a mandible (Partial right ramus with /c-p2 alv. and p3-m3).
  • Ticholeptus hypsodus leadorensis: F:AM 72334, a partial skull.
  • Ticholeptus rileyi: F:AM 42329, a partial skeleton (Mandible with i1 (alv.)-m3 and partial femur). Its type locality is Cold Spring, San Jacinto site 3, which is in a Barstovian terrestrial horizon in the Fleming Formation of Texas.
  • Ustatochoerus schrammi: UNSM 21-8-23H, a mandible (Partial right ramus with /c(alv.)-m3(br.)).

Ecology: ground dwelling herbivore

Distribution:

• Miocene of Canada (1: Saskatchewan collection), United States (36: California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Texas)

Total: 37 collections including 38 occurrences

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Specimen images are retrieved through the ePANDDA API.


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