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Antilocapridae

Don E. Wilson;Russell A. Mittermeier

EntityQ3581369· pop 37· linked from 432 articles

Antilocapridae

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The Antilocapridae are a family of ruminant artiodactyls endemic to North America. Their closest extant relatives are the giraffids. Only one species, the pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), is living today; all other members of the family are extinct. The living pronghorn is a small ruminant mammal resembling an antelope.

Species

FAMILY

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassMammalia
  4. OrderArtiodactyla
  5. FamilyAntilocapridae
Observations recorded29,891

via GBIF

Museum specimens

Specimen records
1,672
With media
28
Family
Antilocapridae
Collections
USNM, UTEP, CM, SDNHM
Recorded in
United States

~5 min read

Encyclopedic overview

5 sections
Contents
  • Description
  • Classification
  • Evolution
  • Species
  • References

The Antilocapridae are a family of ruminant artiodactyls endemic to North America. Their closest extant relatives are the giraffids. Only one species, the pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), is living today; all other members of the family are extinct. The living pronghorn is a small ruminant mammal resembling an antelope.

==Description== In most respects, antilocaprids resemble other ruminants. They have a complex, four-chambered stomach for digesting tough plant matter, cloven hooves, and small, forked horns. Their horns resemble those of the bovids, in that they have a true horny sheath, but, uniquely, they are shed outside the breeding season, and subsequently regrown. Their lateral toes are even further diminished than in bovids, with the digits themselves being entirely lost, and only the cannon bones remaining. Antilocaprids have the same dental formula as most other ruminants: .

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Antilocapridae” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (10)