New Genus Of Tiny, Hornless Deer That Roamed South Dakota 32 Million Years Ago Discovered- Santuccimeryx

[Prehistory Resurrection]

Link to article: https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/US/new-genus-tiny-hornless-deer-roamed-south-dakota/story%3fid=110097293

[Newt]

Ah, it's a leptomerycid. I was going to be shocked if an actual cervid was known from North America that far back. They're fairly recent arrivals here.

What does shock me is that a news service ran an article on a paleontology topic not related to some enormous beast with big nasty teeth. Good on ABC News!

Open-access paper here.

To clarify: this animal was previously described as a species of Leptomeryx (L. elissae) in 2002. This new paper, using information from a new skull discovered by a hiker, separates it out as the new genus Santuccimeryx on typological grounds - basically it has Leptomeryx teeth in a  Pseudoparablastomeryx skull. Their cladogram renders the species left in Leptomeryx as a paraphyletic grade leading to Santuccimeryx + Pseudoparablastomeryx. 

In my decidedly non-expert impression, the similar skulls of Santuccimeryx and Pseudoparablastomeryx appear to be due to similar sizes, not necessarily close relationship. Both are even smaller than typical Leptomeryx (which themselves are chevrotain-sized) and their skulls are relatively shorter, with a juvenilized appearance, as is often seen in smaller members of a lineage.