Kyptoceras

Kyptoceras Temporal range: Early Pliocene PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Suborder:	Tylopoda
Family:	†Protoceratidae
Subfamily:	†Synthetoceratinae
Tribe:	†Kyptoceratini
Genus:	†Kyptoceras
Species:	†K. amatorum
Binomial name
†Kyptoceras amatorum Webb, 1981

Kyptoceras is a small extinct artiodactyl ungulate mammal of the family Protoceratidae, endemic to southeastern North America from the Miocene to Early Pliocene epoch 23.03—3.6 Ma, existing for approximately 19.43 million years.

Taxonomy

Kyptoceras was named by Webb (1981). Its type is Kyptoceras amatorum. It is the type genus of Kyptoceratini. It was assigned to Kyptoceratini by Webb (1981), Prothero (1998), Webb et al. (2003) and Prothero and Ludtke (2007).

Kyptoceras is the last known member of the family. The protoceratids were believed to have been driven to extinction by more advanced grazing herbivores, but in Florida, where there were still relatively large tracts of forest, the protoceratids were able to survive. This species genus name comes from its bent horns, in which the two horns above the eyes curved over its head, and the two nasal horns pointed forward. The species name, amatorum, comes in honor of all amateur fossil collectors, including Frank Garcia (Ruskin, Florida) the amateur who found it and donated it to the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Fossil distribution

Fossils have been recovered from:

• Tiger Bay Mine, Upper Bone Valley Formation, Polk County, Florida
• Lee Creek Mine, Yorktown Formation, Beaufort County, North Carolina