Tragoportax and Miotragocerus from Nagri Formation type locality, Siwalik Group, Pakistan (early Late Miocene): Taxonomic problems and hypotheses regarding their resolution

Abstract

This article focuses on some new material of currently called Miotragocerus/Tragoportax complex of species, collected from Nagri type locality, early Late Miocene (10.039 to 9.969Ma) of the Siwalik Group of Pakistan. Along with the material description, the issues regarding the taxonomic status of Tragoportax, Miotragocerus, Sivaceros and Helicoportax are briefly discussed on the basis of preliminary results of ongoing thorough research on the Siwalik bovids. Furthermore, the priority of Graecoryx over Miotragocerus, the synonymy of Sivaceros with Graecoryx, the distinction between Tragoportax and Graecoryx, and some hypotheses have been laid down for future work, based on the morphological study.