2026-10-14T05:50:04Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34050585 2026-10-01T21:55:39Z category_24 category_272 category_39 category_734 portal_87 item_type_3 month_year_10_2026

Restudy of <i>Pachygazella grangeri</i> (Bovidae, Mammalia) from the Late Miocene–Early Pliocene of northern China with the discussion on its taxonomic and phylogenetic status Weipeng Bai (16397261) Xiaomin Wang (102596) Wei Dong (6479) Evolutionary Biology Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified Ecology Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified Pachygazella Late Miocene-Early Pliocene taxonomy evolution Naemorhedus Capricornis Dr Neil Adams, Natural History Museum, London, UK <p><i>Pachygazella</i> is a small-sized bovid, originally unearthed from Shenmu County, Yulin City, northern China. Hitherto, the species has been placed in Caprini by most authors, and proposed to have a closer relationship with extant <i>Naemorhedus</i> and <i>Capricornis</i>. However, the lack of previous detailed morphological comparison and phylogenetic analysis hinders understanding of the taxonomic status and evolutionary relationship of the species with the other bovids. Here, we restudied the type specimen of the species with virtual 3D modelling, detailed comparison and phylogenetic analysis with other bovids. The result shows that it features a series of similar characters and is phylogenetically positioned as the sister group with the extant <i>Naemorhedus</i> and <i>Capricornis</i>, probably representing an ancestral lineage of these genera. The result supports the hypothesis proposed by the previous authors. Furthermore, we re-investigated the genus discovered from the other sites, resulting that they could not belong to <i>Pachygazella</i>, but should be reclassified as <i>Gazella</i> or <i>Naemorhedus</i>. Therefore, this species has been found only in the type locality so far. In addition, we discussed the evolution of <i>Naemorhedus</i> and <i>Capricornis</i>, proposing that the specimen from Zhoukoudian Loc.1 should be <i>Capricornis</i> and the taxonomic status of <i>C. jianshiensis</i> still requires further investigation.</p> 2026-10-01T21:55:39Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.34050585.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Restudy_of_i_Pachygazella_grangeri_i_Bovidae_Mammalia_from_the_Late_Miocene_Early_Pliocene_of_northern_China_with_the_discussion_on_its_taxonomic_and_phylogenetic_status/34050585 CC BY 4.0