ARTIODACTYLA 167 



are complete skeletons (see Loomis and Peterson). The Giraffe-camels, 

 AUicamehts from the later Miocene (^latthew, 1901, page 429), is a 

 fourth branch, which is traced to the Upper Oligocene through the Lower 

 Miocene genus Oxydactylus (Peterson, 1904). These forms, with the 

 exception of Poehrotherium, are all aberrant types. As in the Agrio- 

 chceridae, the fossil camels stand much in need of a thorough revision. 

 Other Artiodactyls, such as Syndyoceras (Barbour, 1905, page 797) and 

 Dinohyus (Peterson, 1905, pages 211-212, 719), are of especial interest. 

 The former is placed in the descending line of the subfamily Proto- 

 ceratinae, carrying this curious Oligocene family one step further forward 

 in geologic times, while the latter genus belongs in the Entelodontidae, 

 and the completeness of the material in the Carnegie Museum formed 

 the basis of a revision of that family (Peterson, 1909). Material of the 

 Miocene peccaries of Xorth America has recently been found and de- 

 scribed (Peterson, 1906; Matthew, 1907; Loomis, 1910), and Dr. Loomis 

 has concluded that the Oligocene immigrant from Asia to America repre- 

 sents, in the Pleistocene, three lines, Platygonus. MyJoliyiis, and Tayassu 

 (loc. cit., page 384), the latter genus only continued to the present time. 

 A most surprising discovery was made during the last few years by 

 Drs. W. D. MatthevT and J. C. Merriam. :\ratthew and Cook (1909, 

 pages 361-414) report, for the- first time in Xorth America, a true ante- 

 lope {Neotmgocerus, loc. cit., page 413) from the Pliocene of western 

 Nebraska, whicli appears to be, according to Matthew and Cook, related 

 to the trkgoceran group of European Miocene, while Merriam contributes 

 papers on fossil antelopes (Ilingoceras and Splienoplialos, 1909, pages 

 319-330) of the twisted horn type from the Tertiary in Virgin Valley 

 and on Thousand Creek of Nevada, which have affinities to the tragela- 

 phines found in the Siwaliks of Asia, the nilgau, kudu, and other recent 

 African antelopes. It is also pointed out that these Nevadan antelopes, 

 especially Splienoplialos, resemble the existing American prong-horn 

 antelope, and from Merriam's three hypotheses (1911, page 302, (1) 

 that they are Miocene or early Pliocene immigrants from Europe; (2) 

 that they have tragelaphine forms, which originated from ^len'codus-like 

 American ancestors some time during the Miocene, immigrated to the 

 Old World, and only having a few descendants here until late Miocene, 

 or (3) that they are a peculiar twisted-horn division of the Antiloca- 

 pridae originating in America and possibly limited to this continent) it 

 would seem that an American origin for these Miocene and Pliocene re- 

 mains is most strongly favored, Ilingoceras being tentatively placed in a 

 distinct family (Ilingoceridae), while Splienophalus is placed in the 

 Antilocapridse (loc. cit., page 303). 



