Musk Deer on the Run – Dispersal of Miocene Moschidae in the Context of Environmental Changes

The aim of this review is, first of all, to summarize our knowledge on Miocene Moschidae[aut]Moschidae (moschids, musk deer) and provide a helpful tool for the determination of moschids[aut]Moschidae (moschids, musk deer) in Miocene faunas. Secondly, it gives an overview of our current knowledge on the spreading of Miocene Moschidae[aut]Moschidae (moschids, musk deer) by characterizing the environmental conditions at key localities across Eurasia. Although many questions still remain unanswered, the spreading of moschids[aut]Moschidae (moschids, musk deer) can clearly be correlated with the cooler, drier, more open, and especially more seasonal conditions that changed the terrestrial ecosystems across Eurasia during the Middle MioceneMiocenemiddle Climatic Transition. Moschids[aut]Moschidae (moschids, musk deer), far from being indicators for closed and humid environmentsEnvironment/alclosed/forested/humid/woodland as often assumed, were able to cope with drier and more seasonal environmentsEnvironment/alseasonal, and could prove a helpful tool for paleoenvironmentalPaleoenvironment/al reconstructions in the future; e.g., to also tackle environments of Miocene primates[aut]Primates (primates) in more detail.