Study of Cranium of Gazella capricornis skull (Antilopinae) Northwest of Iran

Vertebrate fossil fauna of Late Miocene age in Maragheh contains various mammals preserved in pyroclastic deposits of southern Sahand volcano. This study has been conducted on Gazella capricornis (a perfect skull). Since no other sample with such a good perfectness was found before at other localities (previous ones were isolated horns or tooth rows), it can be proposed as a complemental to the samples type. Gazella capricornis was found not only in Maragheh but also in Samos and Pikermi (Greece), Akkaşdaği (Turkey), Bulgaria, … (east of Europe and west of Asia); which indicates similarities in Late Miocene-Early Pliocene fossil fauna, paleogeography, relative ages, sediments and paleoecology between these regions.