Rusingoryx

{{Short description|Extinct genus of even-toed ungulates}} {{Speciesbox | fossil_range = {{Fossil range|0.075|0.050}}Early Pleistocene – Late Pleistocene | image = Rusingoryx drinking.png | image_caption = ''Rusingoryx'' drinking | genus = Rusingoryx | parent_authority = Pickford & Thomas, 1984 | species = atopocranion | authority = Pickford & Thomas, 1984 | synonyms = *''Megalotragus atopocranion'' <small>Gentry, 2010 (Pickford & Thomas, 1984)</small> }}

'''''Rusingoryx''''' is a genus of extinct alcelaphine bovid artiodactyl closely related to the wildebeest. It contains only one species, '''''R. atopocranion''''', that lived on the plains of Kenya during the Pleistocene.<ref name="desc"/> It was originally named as a species of ''Megalotragus''.

''Rusingoryx'' is known for its strange pointed nose with a large nasal dome. This structure represents an instance of convergent evolution with the crests of hadrosaurid dinosaurs, which were used for display and vocalization.<ref name="desc">{{cite journal |author=Haley D. O'Brien |author2=J. Tyler Faith |author3=Kirsten E. Jenkins |author4=Daniel J. Peppe |author5=Thomas W. Plummer |author6=Zenobia L. Jacobs |author7=Bo Li |author8=Renaud Joannes-Boyau |author9=Gilbert Price |author10=Yue-xing Feng |author11=Christian A. Tryon |year=2016 |title=Unexpected Convergent Evolution of Nasal Domes between Pleistocene Bovids and Cretaceous Hadrosaur Dinosaurs |journal=Current Biology |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=503–508 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.050 |pmid=26853365|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="guardian">{{cite news|title=Revealed: Rusingoryx, an ancient wildebeest cousin with bizarre dinosaur traits|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/feb/05/revealed-rusingoryx-an-ancient-wildebeest-cousin-with-bizarre-dinosaur-traits|access-date=28 March 2016|work=The Guardian|date=5 February 2016}}</ref><ref name=sci-news>{{cite news|title=Pleistocene Mammal Rusingoryx atopocranion Had Dinosaur-Like 'Nose'|url=http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/pleistocene-mammal-rusingoryx-atopocranion-dinosaur-like-nose-03616.html|access-date=28 March 2016|work=sci-news.com|date=5 February 2016}}</ref> Studies have shown that the ''Rusingoryx'' is a specialized grazing animal, with a preference for arid grasslands.<ref name=tylerf>{{cite journal | author = Faith J. Tyler|display-authors=etal| year = 2011 | title = Taxonomic status and paleoecology of Rusingoryx atopocranion (Mammalia, Artiodactyla), an extinct Pleistocene bovid from Rusinga Island, Kenya | url = http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/catryon/files/faith_etal_2011.pdf | journal = Quaternary Research | volume = 75 | issue = 3| pages = 697–707 | doi=10.1016/j.yqres.2010.11.006|bibcode=2011QuRes..75..697F |s2cid=17630698 }}</ref><ref name=guardian /> ''Rusingoryx'' was migratory.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=O’Brien |first=Kaedan |last2=Podkovyroff |first2=Katya |last3=Fernandez |first3=Diego P. |last4=Tryon |first4=Christian A. |last5=Cerling |first5=Thure E. |last6=Ashioya |first6=Lilian |last7=Faith |first7=J. Tyler |date=27 May 2024 |title=Limited herbivore migration during the Last Glacial Period of Kenya |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-024-02413-9 |journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution |language=en |volume=8 |issue=6 |pages=1191–1198 |doi=10.1038/s41559-024-02413-9 |issn=2397-334X |access-date=30 June 2024|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The first specimens, which were poorly preserved, were described in 1983, having been taken from a site called Bovid Hill on Rusinga Island in Lake Victoria.<ref name=sci-news /><ref>Gentry A. W. (2010) Bovidae, ''Cenozoic Mammals of Africa'', 747-803</ref> Butchered bones found in 2011 with stone tools suggested that they had been killed by humans.<ref name=tylerf>{{cite journal | author = Faith J. Tyler|display-authors=etal| year = 2011 | title = Taxonomic status and paleoecology of Rusingoryx atopocranion (Mammalia, Artiodactyla), an extinct Pleistocene bovid from Rusinga Island, Kenya | url = http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/catryon/files/faith_etal_2011.pdf | journal = Quaternary Research | volume = 75 | issue = 3| pages = 697–707 | doi=10.1016/j.yqres.2010.11.006|bibcode=2011QuRes..75..697F |s2cid=17630698 }}</ref><ref name=guardian /> In 2016, remains of an additional 26 better preserved individuals were discovered.

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Fossil taxa described in 1983 Category:Alcelaphinae Category:Pleistocene mammals of Africa