{{Short description|Species of mammal}} {{Speciesbox | image = Tautavel - Praeovibos priscus 03.jpg | image_caption = Fossil of ''Praeovibos priscus'' at {{Ill|Musée de Préhistoire de Tautavel|fr|Musée de Tautavel - Centre européen de préhistoire}} | fossil_range = {{fossil range|Pleistocene}} | genus = Praeovibos | authority = Staudinger, 1908 | parent_authority = Staudinger, 1908 | species = priscus }}

'''''Praeovibos''''', also known as the '''giant muskox''', is an extinct genus of [[bovid]] that contains a single species, '''''Praeovibos priscus'''''. It is closely related to the living [[muskox]] (''Ovibos moschatus''), and is placed as a part of the same tribe [[Ovibovini]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Campos |first1=Paula F. |last2=Sher |first2=Andrei |last3=Mead |first3=Jim I. |last4=Tikhonov |first4=Alexei |last5=Buckley |first5=Michael |last6=Collins |first6=Matthew |last7=Willerslev |first7=Eske |last8=Gilbert |first8=M. Thomas P. |date=August 2010 |title=Clarification of the taxonomic relationship of the extant and extinct ovibovids, Ovibos, Praeovibos, Euceratherium and Bootherium |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379110001423 |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |language=en |volume=29 |issue=17–18 |pages=2123–2130 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.05.006|bibcode=2010QSRv...29.2123C |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Description== [[File:Tautavel - Praeovibos priscus 05.jpg|thumb|left|Restoration of ''Praeovibos priscus'' at Musée de Préhistoire de Tautavel]] ''Praeovibos priscus'' was larger than the modern muskox (''Ovibos moschatus)'' with a shoulder height of 130–165&nbsp;cm and longer, more massive limbs.<ref>Mol, D., De Vos, J. & Reumer, J.W. F., 1999 – ''Praeovibos priscus'' (Bovidae, Artiodactyla, Mammalia) from the North Sea and aspects of its paleoecology</ref> {{Clr|left}} ==Evolution, distribution and habitat== The earliest fossils of the genus date to the Early Pleistocene, around 1.5 million years ago.<ref name=":1" />

The giant muskox was widespread during the Pleistocene, ranging from western Europe to [[Alaska]] and the Northern [[Yukon|Yukon Territory]]. During the Glacial Periods ''Praeovibos priscus'' lived in the upland together with [[Reindeer|reindeer (''Rangifer tarandus)'']] and other alpine animals. This species also lived in open wooded or savanna-like habitat, however in [[Spain]] and [[England]] it has been found living in moist, temperate forests.<ref name=":0">Peter C. Lent (1999). [https://books.google.com/books?id=KE2z-QFjj8kC ''Muskoxen and Their Hunters: A History'']. University of Oklahoma Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8061-3170-2}}</ref> The youngest fossils date to the Last Glacial Period, less than 50,000 years ago.<ref name=":1" />

== Ecology == Analysis of specimens from the Early Pleistocene of Spain suggests that ''Praeovibos'' was primarily a grazer.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Palmqvist |first1=P. |last2=Perez-Claros |first2=J. A. |last3=Janis |first3=C. M. |last4=Figueirido |first4=B. |last5=Torregrosa |first5=V. |last6=Grocke |first6=D. R. |date=2008-11-01 |title=Biogeochemical and Ecomorphological Inferences On Prey Selection and Resource Partitioning Among Mammalian Carnivores In An Early Pleistocene Community |url=https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/palaios/article/23/11/724-737/145947 |journal=[[PALAIOS]] |language=en |volume=23 |issue=11 |pages=724–737 |bibcode=2008Palai..23..724P |doi=10.2110/palo.2007.p07-073r |issn=0883-1351}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

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[[Category:Pleistocene Artiodactyla]] [[Category:Bovidae]] [[Category:Monotypic prehistoric Artiodactyla genera]]