Overview

• Researchers identified a new deer genus from fossils found in South Dakota's Badlands National Park, significantly different from modern deer.
• The deer, estimated to be the size of a house cat and hornless, lived during the Oligocene Epoch.
• Named Santuccimeryx, the species adds to the extinct Leptomerycidae family, relatives of today's mouse deer.
• The discovery was made possible by a park visitor in 2016, highlighting the impact of citizen science in paleontology.
• The unique features of the Santuccimeryx skull suggest a blend of traits from different prehistoric deer species.