Leptobos
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Leptobos Temporal range: Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene
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| Skeleton of Leptobos etruscus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Bovinae |
| Genus: |
†Leptobos Rütimeyer, 1878 |
| Species | |
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See text |
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Leptobos is an extinct genus of large bovine, known from the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene of Eurasia, extending from the Iberian Peninsula to northern China. Species of Leptobos weighed on average 320 kilograms (710 lb). The dietary preference across the genus includes species that were browsers, grazers and mixed feeders (both browsing and grazing). The first appearance of Leptobos in Europe around 3.6-3.5 million years ago is considered to define the beginning of the Villafranchian European faunal stage. Leptobos is considered to be closely related to the insular genus Epileptobos from the Pleistocene of Java, and is considered to be ancestral to Bison. Leptobos became extinct after being replaced by their descendant Bison during the Early Pleistocene, after a period of temporal overlap. "Leptobos" syrticus from Libya likely belongs in a different genus.
Species
- Leptobos brevicornis (China)
- Leptobos crassus (China)
- Leptobos falconeri (Pakistan)
- Leptobos stenometopon (France and Italy)
- Leptobos merlai (France and Italy)
- Leptobos furtivus (France also possibly Italy)
- Leptobos etruscus (France, Italy, and Spain)
- Leptobos vallisarni (Italy and China)
