Capromeryx minor Taylor from the McKittrick Pleistocene, California

Abstract

The occurrence of a Pleistocene vertebrate fauna in an asphalt deposit near McKittrick, California, has been reported by J. C. Merriam and C. Stock. Since the publication of the provisional list of mammals from this locality, several types new to the assemblage have been discovered in the deposit. Among these should be recorded the small antilocaprid, Capromeryx minor. This species occurs here in association with the prong-horn antelope Antilocapra. Three species of the genus Capromeryx are now known from the Pleistocene of North America. The type, C. furcifer, was described by Matthew from Hay Springs, Nebraska. C. minor Taylor occurs at Rancho La Brea, and C. mexicana Furlong is recorded from Tequixquiac, Mexico. The occurrence of C. minor at McKittrick extends the range of this species during the Pleistocene from the Los Angeles basin to the Great Valley of California. Members of the family Antilocapridre are apparently sparsely represented in the McKittrick fauna, as only one individual of Capromeryx has been found, while several individuals of Antilocapra are known to occur.