Comments on the relationships of the cervoid family Palaeomerycidae

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Abstract
The Palaeomerycidae are here defined to include the Old World and New World non-antlered but horned (and some hornless) cervoids. The genera with forked horns from the Old World are included in the sub-family Palaeomerycinae and those from N. America with pointed, bulbous or flat-tipped horns are assigned to the Dromomerycinae. The hornless genera cannot be assigned to either of these subfamilies until their relationships are better known. A phylogenetic chart and a table of comparative characters is drawn to illustrate the supposed relationships of the genera, which are discussed in the text. No phyletic intergradation has been demonstrated between any of the genera, though Blastomeryx may have given rise to Longirostromeryx. On the other hand Barbouromeryx-Dromomeryx and Bouromeryx-Crani-oceras may represent 2 instead of 4 genera. Dremotherium from the early Lower Miocene of Europe seems nearer to the ancestry of the Palaeomerycidae and of the Cervidae than any other known genus. Antlered forms (Cervidae) first appear in the late Lower Miocene of Europe (Steph-anocemus), thus being contemporary with the earliest occurrence of most N. American genera (Palaeomerycidae). An attempt has been made to list the occurrences of the N. American genera under the geol. ages as ascribed by the committee on nomenclature and correlation of the N. American continental Tertiary. The suborder Pecora is divided into 3 superfamilies[long dash]TRAGULOIDEA (Amphi-merycidae, Hypertragulidae, Protoceratidae, Tragulidae and Gelocidae); CERVOIDEA (Giraffidae, Palaeomerycidae and Cervidae); BOVOIDEA (Antilocapridae and Bovidae). The superfamily position of the Moschidae is still questionable but the group seems to be closely related to certain members of the Palaeomerycidae.

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