A team of researchers from Badlands National Park, the American Museum of Natural History, and California State Polytechnic University have made an exciting discovery: a new genus of hornless deer that once lived in South Dakota during the Oligocene Epoch, about 32 million years ago.
A recently discovered species of deer has been named Santuccimeryx, which is derived from “Santucci’s ruminant.” This name pays tribute to Vincent L. Santucci, a senior paleontologist and coordinator of the paleontology program at the Geologic Resources Division of the National Park Service. The National Park Service expressed its gratitude to Santucci for his contributions and support of the paleontology program at Badlands National Park.
The findings of this study were recently published in the “Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science.”
According to a statement from the NPS, Santuccimeryx, a member of the extinct family Leptomerycidae, exhibits characteristics found in both the Oligocene genus Leptomeryx and the Miocene genus Pseudoparablastomeryx. These two genera existed nearly 10 million years apart. The Leptomerycidae family, which were about the size of house cats, inhabited North America from the late-middle Eocene (around 41 million years ago) to the end of the middle Miocene (around 11 million years ago). They are considered close relatives to the living chevrotains, also known as mouse deer, found in the tropical forests of central and western Africa as well as southeast Asia.
According to officials, the newly discovered deer genus has teeth that closely resemble those of Leptomeryx and a skull that bears a striking resemblance to that of the Pseudoparablastomeryx.
According to the National Park Service (NPS), officials have determined that the deer cannot be classified under any existing genus. As a result, they have concluded that the deer should be placed into a new genus of its own.
“I feel incredibly grateful, both personally and professionally, to be connected to this significant fossil discovery in Badlands National Park. It holds a special place in my heart as it was where my journey as a paleontologist with the National Park Service began back in 1985,” expressed Santucci.
In 2016, researchers made an exciting discovery at Badlands – the first and only known skull of the deer. This finding prompted further research.
“This paper serves as an excellent illustration of the significance of citizen science,” emphasized Mattison Shreero, the lead researcher. “This particular skull is the sole specimen ever discovered for this animal. Had someone taken it or failed to report it, allowing it to erode away, we would have remained oblivious to its existence.”
If visitors at Badlands National Park come across something they believe to be a fossil or artifact, they are kindly requested to leave it undisturbed and report their discovery to the park authorities. They can do this by submitting a Visitor Site Report at the Visitor Center, speaking to a park ranger, or emailing information about their find to [email protected].