Epieuryceros
Taxonomy
Epieuryceros is an obscure genus consisting of two reported species, E. truncus, known only from the Ensenadan age (1.2-0.8 Ma), and E. proximus, known from the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary (1). As with the related deer Antifer, the genus has been proposed as synonymous with Blastocerus (2). It does indeed appear to belong to the Odocoileinae, or New World deer (2), yet Churcher, C. S. (2013) reports the genus as invalid, lumping it, and possibly also Antifer, within Blastocerus as B. díchotomus (3). This is, however, contested by other studies (5). Antifer is widely held as legitimate (4)(1), but the status of Epieuryceros must be regarded as questionable.
Distribution
The only confident remains of the genus are from Argentina, though an alleged Brazilian find has been reported (1). The animal is principally known from the Pampean region yet is also reported from the Toropí Formation in the Corrientes region, whilst other remains are from the regions of Buenos Aires and Santa Fe (5).
Morphology and ecology
Epieuryceros was classified on the basis of its fully palmate antlers, which reportedly distinguish it from other South American Cervids (2). E. truncus and proximus are differentiated by details of the antlers’ palm and peduncle, as well as their positioning (5).
Epieuryceros seems to have been a browser, associated with humid and scrubby, semi-open vegetation, whereas the similar Antifer was more associated with arid, truly open habitats (5).
Citations
1. Valli, A., (2018.) Late Pleistocene Deer in the Region of the National Park “Serra da Capivara” (Piauí, Brazil). Quaternary, 1(1). 4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/quat1010004
2. Vrba, E. and Schaller, G., 2000. Antelopes, Deer, and Relatives: Fossil Record, Behavioral Ecology, Systematics and Conservation. New York: Yale University Press, pp.55-56.
3. Churcher, C. S. (2013). OBSERVACIONES SOBRE EL STATUS TAXONOMICO DE EPIEURYCEROS AMEGHINO 1889 y SUS ESPECIES E. TRUNCUS y E. PROXIMUS. Ameghiniana, 4(10), 351-362. Retrieved from https://www.ameghiniana.org.ar/index.php/ameghiniana/article/view/1209
4. Labarca, R. and Alcaraz, M. (2011). Presence of Antifer ultra Ameghino (=Antifer niemeyeri Casamiquela) in the late Pleistocene-early Holocene of central Chile (30-35°S). Andean Geology. 38. 1.
5. Alcaraz, M. and Zurita, A. (2004). New records of poorly known cervids: Epieuryceros cf. proximus Castellanos and Antifer sp. (Mammalia, Artiodactyla, Cervidae). Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales. 41-48.