Xenokeryx

Xenokeryx Temporal range: 15 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ Miocene
Life restoration of X. amidalae
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	†Palaeomerycidae
Genus:	†Xenokeryx Sánchez et al, 2015
Type species
Xenokeryx amidalae Sánchez et al, 2015
Synonyms
Triceromeryx conquensis

Xenokeryx cranial fossils

Xenokeryx ("strange horn" in Greek) is an extinct genus of ruminant known from the Miocene of Europe. The type species, Xenokeryx amidalae, was recovered from central Spain and bears a unique T-shaped protrusion from the top of the head. The specific epithet amidalae is in reference to the character Padmé Amidala from the Star Wars films "due to the striking resemblance that the occipital appendage of Xenokeryx bears to one of the hairstyles that the aforementioned character shows in The Phantom Menace feature film."[1]

References

1. Sánchez, Israel M.; Cantalapiedra, Juan L.; Ríos, María; Quiralte, Victoria; Morales, Jorge (2015). "Systematics and Evolution of the Miocene Three-Horned Palaeomerycid Ruminants (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla)". PLOS ONE. 10 (12): e0143034. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1043034S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0143034. PMC 4668073. PMID 26630174.

External links

Media related to Xenokeryx at Wikimedia Commons