Moschidae · Lablypedia

In a nutshell

Moschidae is a family of pecoran even-toed ungulates, containing the musk deer (Moschus) and its extinct relatives. They are characterized by long "saber teeth" instead of horns, antlers or ossicones, modest size (Moschus only reaches 37 lb (17 kg); other taxa were even smaller) and a lack of facial glands. While various Oligocene and Miocene pecorans were previously assigned to this family, recent studies find that most should be assigned to their own clades, although further research would need to confirm these traits. As a result, Micromeryx, Hispanomeryx, and Moschus are the only undisputed moschid members, making them known from at least 18 Ma. The group was abundant across Eurasia and North America during the Miocene, but afterwards declined to only the extant genus Moschus by the early Pleistocene.

Related on Lably

Through North America, Deer and Phylogenetics

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Taxonomy and classification

Until the early 21st century, it was believed that the musk deer (family Moschidae) were an adjacent, sister-group to the "true deer" of the family Cervidae (caribou, moose, elk, and roughly 40–50 other species); however, a 2003 phylogenetic study by Alexandre Hassanin (of the National Museum of Natural History, France) and co., based on mitochondrial and nuclear analyses, revealed that Moschidae and Bovidae (antelope, cattle, goats, sheep), together, form a sister-clade to Cervidae. According to the study, the Cervidae diverged from the Bovidae-Moschidae clade roughly 27–28 million years ago. The following cladogram is based on this 2003 study:

After Prothero (2007)

Family Moschidae

Micromeryx†
- Micromeryx styriacus
- Micromeryx flourensianus
- Micromeryx? eiselei – this species is a proposed member of genus Micromeryx
Moschus
- Moschus moschiferus
- Moschus anhuiensis
- Moschus berezovskii
- Moschus fuscus
- Moschus chrysogaster
- Moschus cupreus
- Moschus leucogaster
Hispanomeryx†
- Hispanomeryx aragonensis
- Hispanomeryx daamsi
- Hispanomeryx duriensis
- Hispanomeryx andrewsi
Hydropotopsis (?)†
- Hydropotopsis lemanensis
Oriomeryx (?)†
- Oriomeryx major
- Oriomeryx willii
Friburgomeryx (?)†
- Friburgomeryx wallenriedensis
Bedenomeryx (?)†
- Bedenomeryx truyolsi
- Bedenomeryx milloquensis
- Bedenomeryx paulhiacensis
Subfamily Blastomerycinae (?)†
- Pseudoblastomeryx
  - Pseudoblastomeryx advena
- Machaeromeryx
  - Machaeromeryx tragulus
- Longirostromeryx†
  - Longirostromeryx clarendonensis
  - Longirostromeryx wellsi
- Problastomeryx
  - Problastomeryx primus
- Parablastomeryx
  - Parablastomeryx floridanus
  - Parablastomeryx gregorii
- Blastomeryx†
  - Blastomeryx gemmifer

More in Animals

Monotypic taxonTaxonomic group with only one subordinate taxon Species descriptionFormal description of a discovered species ParaphylyType of taxonomic group IUCN Red ListInventory of the global conservation status of biological species SubtropicsGeographic and climate zone Common nameName generally used for a taxon, group of taxa or organism(s)