Xenokeryx
Xenokeryx ("strange horn" in Greek) is an extinct genus of ruminant known from the Miocene of Europe. The type species, Xenokeryx amidalae, was recovered from central Spain and bears a unique T-shaped protrusion from the top of the head. The specific epithet amidalae is in reference to the character Padmé Amidala from the Star Wars films "due to the striking resemblance that the occipital appendage of Xenokeryx bears to one of the hairstyles that the aforementioned character shows in The Phantom Menace feature film."[1]
| Xenokeryx Temporal range: Miocene | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Life restoration of X. amidalae | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | †Palaeomerycidae |
| Genus: | †Xenokeryx Sánchez et al, 2015 |
| Type species | |
| Xenokeryx amidalae Sánchez et al, 2015 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Triceromeryx conquensis | |
Xenokeryx cranial fossils
References
- Sánchez, Israel M.; Cantalapiedra, Juan L.; Ríos, María; Quiralte, Victoria; Morales, Jorge (2015). "Systematics and Evolution of the Miocene Three-Horned Palaeomerycid Ruminants (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla)". PLOS ONE. 10 (12): e0143034. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1043034S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0143034. PMC 4668073. PMID 26630174.
External links
Media related to Xenokeryx at Wikimedia Commons
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