Micromeryx Explained

Micromeryx is an extinct genus of musk deer that lived during the Miocene epoch (about 16-8 million years ago).^[1] Fossil remains were found in Europe and Asia.^[2] The earliest record (MN4) of the genus comes from the Sibnica 4 paleontological site near Rekovac in Serbia.^[3]

Characteristics

This animal was very similar to the modern musk deer (Moschus moschiferus) of East Asia. However, Micromeryx (its name means "tiny ruminant") was much smaller: it perhaps reached 5 kilograms. Teeth were very similar to those of the extant Cephalophus but more primitive. Like in the present moschids, the males of these animals were equipped with long upper canines, protruding from the mouth when it was closed. The body was slender and short, while the legs were extremely elongated.

Systematics

Micromeryx was a primitive representative of the moschids, a group of primitive ruminants related to deer and cattle. They had a remarkable expansion during the Miocene and Pliocene and are currently represented by a few species, such as the aforementioned Moschus moschiferus. A somewhat similar animal was Hispanomeryx, which lived in about the same area as Micromeryx but went extinct during the Middle Miocene.

Distribution

Micromeryx probably originated in Western Asia and then spread to Europe and East Asia. Many fossils of this animal have been found in a vast geographical area ranging from Anatolia (Turkey)^[4] to Spain and China.

Palaeoecology

Fruit was an important component of the diet of M. flourensianus, whereas the contemporary. M.? eiselei was a leaf browser.^[5]

Further reading

• Sánchez, I. M., and J. Morales. 2006. Distributión biocronológica de los Moschidae (Mammalia; Ruminantia) en España. Estudios Geológicos 62:533–546.

Notes and References

1. Mennecart. Bastien. Aiglstorfer. Manuela. Göhlich. Ursula. Daxner-Höck. Gudrun. 2019. On the oldest Mongolian moschids (Mammalia, Ruminantia) and the early moschid evolution. Palaeontologia Electronica. 22. 2. 1–17. 10.26879/959. free.
2. Sánchez . I. M. . Morales . J. . 2008 . Micromeryx azanzae sp. nov. (Ruminantia: Moschidae) from the middle-upper Miocene of Spain, and the first description of the cranium of Micromeryx . . 28 . 3 . 873–885 . 10.1671/0272-4634(2008)28[873:MASNRM]2.0.CO;2.
3. Alaburić, Sanja; Radović, Predrag (2016). “An early record of the moschid genus Micromeryx (Mammalia, Ruminantia)”. In: Marković, Z., Milivojević, M. (Eds.), Life on the shore – geological and paleontological research in the Neogene of Sibnica and vicinity (Levač basin, Central Serbia). Part 1. Special Issue of the Natural History Museum in Belgrade: 141–148.
4. Aiglstorfer . Manuela . Mayda . Serdar . Heizmann . Elmar P.J. . March–April 2018 . First record of late middle Miocene Moschidae from Turkey: Micromeryx and Hispanomeryx from Catakbağyaka (Muğla, SW Turkey) . . en . 17 . 3 . 178–188 . 10.1016/j.crpv.2017.10.001 . 15 November 2024 . Elsevier Science Direct.
5. Aiglstorfer . Manuela . Semprebon . Gina M. . 9 May 2019 . Hungry for fruit? – A case study on the ecology of middle Miocene Moschidae (Mammalia, Ruminantia) . . 41 . 1 . 385 . 10.5252/geodiversitas2019v41a10 . 1280-9659 . 15 November 2024 . BioOne Digital Library.