Gazella psolea

Gazella psolea Temporal range: Late Pliocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Bovidae
Subfamily:	Antilopinae
Genus:	Gazella
Subgenus:	Deprezia Geraads & Amani, 1998
Species:	G. psolea
Binomial name
Gazella psolea Geraads & Amani, 1998

Gazella psolea is an unusual prehistoric species of gazelle that lived in Africa and Arabia; it is only known from fossils. It makes up the subgenus Deprezia due to its unique skull morphology: it had a long premolar row, and its nasal area is peculiar, with short nasal bones and a very large nasal opening. It therefore seems to have been able to breathe cold and dry air (a similar adaptation as found in the saiga), but why this feature evolved is still rather mysterious. Perhaps it made seasonal migrations to the High Atlas mountains, where such an adaptation would have been useful.

The species lived during the Late Pliocene (some 2.5 mya); its remains have been found at Ahl al Oughlam near Casablanca, Morocco.

References

• Geraads, Denis & Amani, Fethi (1998): Bovidae (Mammalia) du Pliocène final d'Ahl al Oughlam, Casablanca, Maroc. Paläontologische Zeitschrift 72(1-2): 191-205. PDF fulltext [French with English and German abstracts]

External links

• CRP d'Ivry: Site of Denis Geraads with specimen pictures and information. Retrieved 2007-APR-13.