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Chasmaporthetes
''Chasmaporthetes'', also known as hunting or running hyena, is an extinct genus of hyenas distributed in Eurasia, North America, and Africa during the Pliocene-Pleistocene epochs, living from 4.9 million to 780,000 years ago, existing for about . The genus probably arose from Eurasian Miocene hyenas such as ''Thalassictis'' or ''Lycyaena'', with ''C. borissiaki'' being the oldest known representative.Kurtén, Björn (1980) ''Pleistocene mammals of North America'', p. 199, Columbia University Press, 1980, The species ''C. ossifragus'' was the only hyena to cross the Bering land bridge into the Americas, and ranged over what is now Arizona and Mexico during Blancan and early Irvingtonian Land Mammal ages, between 5.0 and 1.5 million years ago.Macdonald, David (1992) ''The Velvet Claw: A Natural History of the Carnivores'', p. 119-144, New York: Parkwest, ''Chasmaporthetes'' was one of the so-called "dog-like" hyenas (of which the aardwolf is the only survivor), a hyaenid group wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyena
Hyenas, or hyaenas (from Ancient Greek , ), are feliform carnivoran mammals of the family Hyaenidae . With only four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the Carnivora and one of the smallest in the class Mammalia. Despite their low diversity, hyenas are unique and vital components of most African ecosystems. Although phylogenetically closer to felines and viverrids, as part of suborder Feliformia, hyenas are behaviourally and morphologically similar to canids in several elements due to convergent evolution; both hyenas and canines are non-arboreal, cursorial hunters that catch prey with their teeth rather than claws. Both eat food quickly and may store it, and their calloused feet with large, blunt, nonretractable claws are adapted for running and making sharp turns. However, hyenas' grooming, scent marking, defecation habits, mating and parental behavior are consistent with the behavior of other feliforms. Hyenas feature prominently ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irvingtonian
The Irvingtonian North American Land Mammal Age on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), spanning from 1.9 million – 250,000 years BP.The _Blancan, Irvingtonian and Rancholabrean Mammal Ages by Christopher J. Bell and Ernest L. Lundelius Jr., Anthony D. Barnosky, Russell W. Graham, Everett H. Lindsay, Dennis R. Ruez Jr., Holmes A. Semken Jr., S. David Webb, and Richard J. Zakrzewski. January 2004 in the book: Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic Mammals of North America: Biostratigraphy and Geochronology. Chapter: 7. Publisher: Columbia University Press; Editors: Michael O. Woodburne. pp274-276 Named after an assemblage of fossils from the [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blancan
The Blancan North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 4,750,000 to 1,806,000 years Before Present, BP, a period of . Blancan North American Stage GeoWhen Database. Version 1.1.0. Retrieved 2017-June-26. It is usually considered to start in the early-mid Pliocene Epoch and end by the early Pleistocene. The Blancan is preceded by the Hemphillian and followed by the Irvingtonian NALMA stages. As usually defined, it corresponds to the mid-Zanclean through Piacenzian and Gelasian stages in Europe and Asia. In California, the Blancan roughly corresponds to the mid-Delmontian through Repettian and Venturian to the very early Wheelerian. The Austr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oliver Perry Hay
Oliver Perry Hay (May 22, 1846 – November 2, 1930) was an American herpetologist, ichthyologist, and paleontologist. Hay was born in Jefferson County, Indiana, to Robert and Margaret Hay. In 1870, Hay graduated with a bachelor of arts from Eureka College in Illinois. He taught at the college as a sciences professor from 1870–1873. He married Mary E. Howsmon of Eureka, Illinois, in 1870. He was a professor at Oskaloosa College in Iowa from 1874–1876. He was a student at Yale University from 1876–1877. Seventeen years after earning his bachelors, he earned his PhD from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. From 1877–1879, he taught at Abingdon College just before it was incorporated into his alma mater, Eureka College. His longest professorship was at Butler University from 1879–1892. From 1894 to 1895, he worked at the Field Museum of Natural History as assistant curator of zoology, where despite his specialty in ichthyology, he worked in all nonornithological f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paenemarmota
''Paenemarmota'' is an extinct genus of ground squirrel from North America. Fossils are known from the Blancan and Hemphillian age from localities in Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Arizona, and Mexico. At around the size of a beaver, ''Paenemarmota'' is the largest known member of the squirrel family. Description ''Paenemarmota'' is the largest known ground squirrel and is nearly twice as large as the largest living marmots. Weight estimates for ''P. barbouri'' are around on the basis of femur dimensions, or up to kg on the basis of lengths of premolars. On the basis of lengths of premolars, ''P. mexicana'' may have weighed up to , while ''P. sawrockensis'' was smaller, at up to . Although some of its features are primitive, in general morphology it resembles the ground squirrels of the genus ''Spermophilus ''Spermophilus'' is a genus of ground squirrels in the Sciuridae, squirrel family. As traditionally defined the genus was very species-rich, ranging through Europe, Asia a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acinonyx Pardinensis
The giant cheetah (''Acinonyx pardinensis'') is an extinct felid species that was closely related to the modern cheetah. Description The lifestyle and physical characteristics of the giant cheetah were probably similar to those of its modern relative, except the giant cheetah was the height of a lion at the shoulder (but, due to its light build, weighed considerably less). It was roughly twice the size of today's cheetahs, putting it at around , and about from head to rump, not including a tail. Its reconstructed shoulder height was at . Like the modern cheetah, the giant cheetah was likely to have been a sprinter, but based on its proportions, was probably slower than the modern cheetah species. Just as with the modern cheetah, almost every aspect of ''Acinonyx pardinesis'' was specialized for running, though not as fast. The muzzle is short and the nasal passage large for increased air intake during a strenuous sprint. To make room for the enlarged nasal passage, the maxil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Premolar
The premolars, also called premolar teeth, or bicuspids, are transitional teeth located between the canine and molar teeth. In humans, there are two premolars per quadrant in the permanent set of teeth, making eight premolars total in the mouth. They have at least two cusps. Premolars can be considered transitional teeth during chewing, or mastication. They have properties of both the canines, that lie anterior and molars that lie posterior, and so food can be transferred from the canines to the premolars and finally to the molars for grinding, instead of directly from the canines to the molars. Human anatomy The premolars in humans are the maxillary first premolar, maxillary second premolar, mandibular first premolar, and the mandibular second premolar. Premolar teeth by definition are permanent teeth distal to the canines, preceded by deciduous molars. Morphology There is always one large buccal cusp, especially so in the mandibular first premolar. The lower second ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Borophagus Diversidens
''Borophagus diversidens'' ("devouring glutton") is an extinct species of the genus ''Borophagus'' of the subfamily Borophaginae, a group of canids endemic to North America from the late Miocene epoch through the Pliocene epoch 4.9—1.8 Ma. Overview ''Borophagus diversidens'' was named by Cope in 1892. Members of its subfamily, Borophaginae, are loosely known as "bone-crushing" or "hyena-like" dogs. Though not the most massive borophagine by size or weight, it had a more highly evolved capacity to crunch bone than earlier, larger genera such as ''Epicyon'', which seems to be an evolutionary trend of the group (Turner, 2004). During the Pliocene epoch, ''Borophagus'' began being displaced by ''Canis'' genera such as ''Canis edwardii'' and later by ''Canis dirus''. Early species of ''Borophagus'' were placed in the genus ''Osteoborus'' until recently, but the genera are now considered synonyms. ''B. diversidens'' possibly led a hyena-like lifestyle scavenging carcasses of recentl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of the preservation of the Grand Canyon area and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery. Nearly two billion years of Earth's geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypercarnivore
A hypercarnivore is an animal which has a diet that is more than 70% meat, either via active predation or by scavenging. The remaining non-meat diet may consist of non-animal foods such as fungi, fruits or other plant material. Some extant examples of hypercarnivorous animals include crocodilians, owls, shrikes, eagles, vultures, felids, most wild canids, dolphins, snakes, spiders, scorpions, mantises, marlins, groupers, piranhas and most sharks. Every species in the family Felidae, including the domesticated cat, is a hypercarnivore in its natural state. Additionally, this term is also used in paleobiology to describe taxa of animals which have an increased slicing component of their dentition relative to the grinding component. Hypercarnivores need not be apex predators. For example, salmon are exclusively carnivorous, yet they are prey at all stages of life for a variety of organisms. Many prehistoric mammals of the clade Carnivoramorpha (Carnivora and Miacoidea without C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_(1980)_Fig._142.png "Click for more on -> Acinonyx Pardinensis")
