Osbornoceros fossil map
Where fossils of Osbornoceros have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 5 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 5 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 9.4–4.7 million years ago (Tortonian to Zanclean) |
| Periods | Neogene |
| Family | Antilocapridae |
| Named by | Frick 1937 |
| Fossil records | 8 occurrences at 4 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States |
| Rock formations | Chamita, txn:42720, Popotosa |
About Osbornoceros
Osbornoceros is an extinct artiodactyl genus of the family Antilocapridae. All antilocaprid species are extinct except for the pronghorn. Osbornoceros osborni is the only known species of the genus Osbornoceros. Osbornoceros lived during the Late Miocene around 7 to 6 million years ago in what is now North America. It is well represented in fossil discoveries, with nearly a dozen specimens having been found to date. All come from the Chamita Formation in a quarry near Lyden, New Mexico, the site of numerous other finds such as that of Chamitataxus, a prehistoric badger that lived at the same time. The holotype specimen of Osbornoceros was discovered in 1937 and many more were found nearby during further expeditions.
Osbornoceros was strikingly similar to today's pronghorn; it was lightly built and had a series of small horns that protruded from its skull. It was, like its relatives, a quadruped herbivore and grazed on the grassy plains of its time. If Osbornoceros had any predators is unknown and much is still unknown about its palaeobiology, but it is assumed to have been similar to the pronghorn and its extinct relatives.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Osbornoceros (revision 1367003596), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q16743596.
