Tragoportax

The skull of Tragoportax had a short snout and elongated rear. The horns were large and curved backwards, and in some species (notably T. amalthea and T. perses) were twisted; the horns of females and young were smaller and thinner than those of adult males. The cross-section of the horns was usually triangular or subtriangular; the horns had a well-marked posterolateral keel and flat sides. Compared to those of the related Miotragocerus, the horns were less laterally compressed.[3] The teeth were high-crowned and fitted with dental cement, like those of the present-day nilgai, to which it was closely related.

Several species are known from the genus Tragoportax: the type species is T. salmontanus, described by Pilgrim in 1937 on the basis of fossils found on the Siwaliks in Pakistan;[1] other well-known species are T. amalthea, well known thanks to several fossils found in the Greek deposit of Pikermi, and T. rugosifrons, widespread (Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Ukraine, Pakistan, Iran). Other lesser-known species are T. maius of Georgia and Azerbaijan, T. cyrenaicus of Libya, T. macedoniensis of Greece and T. acrae of South Africa. The latter species may have been the last to disappear, in the early Pliocene, and was originally ascribed to a separate genus (Mesembriportax). Another well-known species often ascribed to Tragoportax is T. gaudryi, from various European deposits: however, this form has been reclassified as a species of the related genus Miotragocerus.[6] In 2023, the new species Tragoportax perses was described.[7]

The classification of Tragoportax and its kin remains a matter of debate. It has commonly been assigned to the tribe Boselaphini, alongside the modern nilgai.[3] Bibi et al. (2009) suggested that modern boselaphines and Miocene taxa should be separated, with Tragoportax being reassigned to the tribe Tragoportacini,[8] which also includes Miotragocerus.[8][9]