Hoplitomeryx, LEINDERS, 1983

Mazza, Paul P. A. & Rustioni, Marco, 2011, Five new species of Hoplitomeryx from the Neogene of Abruzzo and Apulia (central and southern Italy) with revision of the genus and of Hoplitomeryx matthei Leinders, 1983, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 163 (4), pp. 1304-1333 : 1305

GENUS HOPLITOMERYX LEINDERS, 1983

Revised diagnosis: The genus Hoplitomeryx includes species with two paired, nondeciduous, unbranched orbital horns, with a median, unpaired, nondeciduous, and unbranched nasal horn, and with sabre-like upper canines. The skull roof is pneumatized, there are two lacrimal orifices on the orbital rim, and large and smooth-surfaced auditory bullae. The jawbone is sinuous.

Dentally the genus is characterized by brachyodont to mesodont dentitions; p1 is always absent, p2 is present only in the more primitive Scontrone specimens, whereas it is lost in the specimens from Gargano: the upper and lower cheek dental formulae are therefore 3– 3 in the Scontrone specimens, 2–3 in the Gargano ones. p4 is not molarized, generally simple, either elongated or compressed mesiodistally.

More specifically, Hoplitomeryx is characterized by: (1) cheek teeth brachyodont or mesodont; (2) upper molars often wider than they are long; (3) variously developed parastyle and mesostyle in upper cheek teeth; (4) P3 with centrally situated and lingually directed protocone; (5) P4 and M3 with large metaconule; (6) incipient entostyle occasionally from mesial wall of metaconule of first and second upper molars; (7) cingula absent in upper cheek teeth; (8) small paraconid occasionally present; (9) nonmolarized p4; (10) metastylid generally well developed in lower molars; (11) ectostylid occasionally present, sometimes quite developed, on lower molars; (12) complete postentocristid in lower molars; (13) infrequent mesiolabial cingulum; (14) distal lobe of m3 constantly bi-lophed, normally constituted by crescent hypoconulid and large, tear-shaped entoconulid, both with distally extending cristids, not fused together along the distal margin of the tooth or otherwise fused, but only in fairly worn teeth; (14) mandible slender or pachyostotic. Sabre-like upper canines can sometimes be present. There is no ‘ Dorcatherium fold’ on lower molars, nor any ‘ Palaeomeryx fold’ in brachyodont species of the genus. Postcranially, the genus is characterized by patellae with elongated distal apophyses probably as a result of ossification of the ligamentum patellae, astragalus with trochleae not parallel, navicocuboid fused to the metatarsus, distally closed metatarsal gullies, cannon bones with complete distal keels.