000145166 001__ 145166 000145166 005__ 20250923084438.0 000145166 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.1080/14772019.2024.2386020 000145166 0248_ $$2sideral$$a139979 000145166 037__ $$aART-2024-139979 000145166 041__ $$aeng 000145166 100__ $$aSánchez, Israel M. 000145166 245__ $$aThe postcranial skeleton of Amphimoschus Bourgeois, 1873 (Cetartiodactyla, Ruminantia, Pecora) sheds light on its phylogeny and the evolution of the clade Cervoidea 000145166 260__ $$c2024 000145166 5060_ $$aAccess copy available to the general public$$fUnrestricted 000145166 5203_ $$aHere we present the first description of the postcranial skeleton of Amphimoschus, an enigmatic hornless ruminant known from the late Early to the late Middle Miocene of Eurasia (c. 17.5–13.8 Ma). This new fossil material that includes several elements of the appendicular skeleton comes from the French sites of Pontlevoy (MN5), Aérotrain (MN4), and Artenay (MN4). The postcranial skeleton of Amphimoschus is relevant to determine its phylogenetic affinities within the Pecora and to better understand the evolution of cervoids, the pecoran ruminants more closely related to deer. Our total-evidence tip-dating phylogenetic analysis recovers three well-supported main lineages of crown pecorans (Giraffomorpha, Bovidomorpha and Cervidomorpha) and places Amphimoschus as a basal member of a monophyletic Cervoidea. Thus, we reject the recent assignment of Amphimoschus to the Bovoidea, and confirm the presence of hornless forms at the base of the cervoid clade. We define the Cervoidea as the least inclusive clade of crown pecorans including Amphimoschus and the Cervidae. We also define the Cervidomorpha as the least inclusive clade of crown pecorans containing Namibiomeryx and the Cervidae. Cervidomorphs were relatively successful in the Miocene, spreading through Africa, Eurasia and North America during the Early–Middle Miocene. Amphimoschus xishuiensis Y.-K. Li et al., Citation2021 is recovered here as the closest sister group to the Bovidae and hence cannot be considered to belong to the genus Amphimoschus. We erect for it the new genus Dimidiomeryx. Our topology adds complexity to the recently revamped hypothesis based on molecular data regarding the single origin of the cranial appendages in pecoran ruminants. Amphimoschus probably had a sitatunga-like lifestyle, sporting sprawling-out fingers with very long third phalanges, long limbs and a general configuration of the appendicular skeleton that probably allowed it to live in swampy/semiaquatic environments. 000145166 536__ $$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/E33-23R$$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/AEI/PID2020-116220GB-I00$$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/AEI/PID2020-117289GB-I00$$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/FJC-2020-042982-I 000145166 540__ $$9info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess$$aby-nd$$uhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/es/ 000145166 590__ $$a2.2$$b2024 000145166 592__ $$a0.808$$b2024 000145166 591__ $$aPALEONTOLOGY$$b6 / 56 = 0.107$$c2024$$dQ1$$eT1 000145166 593__ $$aPaleontology$$c2024$$dQ1 000145166 591__ $$aEVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY$$b28 / 53 = 0.528$$c2024$$dQ3$$eT2 000145166 655_4 $$ainfo:eu-repo/semantics/article$$vinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 000145166 700__ $$aCantalapiedra, Juan L. 000145166 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0001-6138-7227$$aDe Miguel, Daniel$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000145166 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0003-2487-547X$$aAzanza, Beatriz$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000145166 700__ $$aStrani, Flavia$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000145166 700__ $$aMorales, Jorge 000145166 7102_ $$12000$$2655$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Ciencias de la Tierra$$cÁrea Paleontología 000145166 773__ $$g22, 1 (2024), 2386020 [23 pp.]$$pJ. Syst. Palaeontol.$$tJOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC PALAEONTOLOGY$$x1477-2019 000145166 8564_ $$s3570777$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/145166/files/texto_completo.pdf$$yVersión publicada 000145166 8564_ $$s1291986$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/145166/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon$$xicon$$yVersión publicada 000145166 909CO $$ooai:zaguan.unizar.es:145166$$particulos$$pdriver 000145166 951__ $$a2025-09-22-14:48:28 000145166 980__ $$aARTICLE