Kingdom Animalia Class Mammalia Family †Protoceratidae | Phylum Chordata Order Artiodactyla Rank Genus | |
Similar Even‑toed ungulate, Protoceratidae, Protoceras, Syndyoceras, Kyptoceras | ||
Leptoreodon is a small extinct genus of Artiodactyla, of the family Protoceratidae, endemic to North America from the Eocene epoch (Uintan to Duchesnean stage) 40.2—33.9 Ma, existing for approximately 6.3 million years.
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Taxonomy
Leptoreodon was named by Wortman (1898). It was assigned to Hypertragulidae by Peterson (1919); and to Protoceratidae by Wortman (1898), Carroll (1988), Prothero (1998) and Prothero and Ludtke (2007).
Morphology
Leptoreodon resembled deer. However they were more closely related to camelids. In addition to having horns in the more usual place, protoceratids had additional, rostral horns above the orbital cavity.
Body mass
Four fossil specimens of Prosynthetoceras were measured by M. Mendoza, C. M. Janis, and P. Palmqvist for body mass.
Fossil distribution
Fossils have been recovered from: