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Creodont
Creodonta ("meat teeth") is a former order of extinct carnivorous placental mammals that lived from the early Paleocene to the late Miocene epochs in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Originally thought to be a single group of animals ancestral to the modern Carnivora, this order is now usually considered a polyphyletic assemblage of two different groups, the Oxyaenids and the Hyenodonts, not a natural group. Oxyaenids are first known from the Palaeocene of North America, while hyaenodonts hail from the Palaeocene of Africa. Creodonts were the dominant carnivorous mammals from , peaking in diversity and prevalence during the Eocene. The first large, obviously carnivorous mammals appeared with the radiation of the oxyaenids in the late Paleocene. During the Paleogene, "creodont" species were the most abundant terrestrial carnivores in the Old World. In Oligocene Africa, hyaenodonts were the dominant group of large flesh-eaters, persisting until the middle of the Miocene. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carnivora
Carnivora is a Clade, monophyletic order of Placentalia, placental mammals consisting of the most recent common ancestor of all felidae, cat-like and canidae, dog-like animals, and all descendants of that ancestor. Members of this group are formally referred to as carnivorans, and have evolved to specialize in eating flesh. The order is the fifth largest order of mammals, comprising at least 279 species. Carnivorans live on every major landmass and in a variety of habitats, ranging from the cold polar regions to the hyper-arid region of the Sahara Desert to the open seas. They come in a very large array of different body plans in contrasting shapes and sizes. Carnivora can be divided into two subclades: the cat-like Feliformia and the dog-like Caniformia, which are differentiated based on the structure of their ear bones and cranial features. The feliforms include families such as the felidae, cats, the hyenas, the mongooses and the viverridae, civets. The majority of felifor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyaenodonta
Hyaenodonta (" hyena teeth") is an extinct order of hypercarnivorous placental pan-carnivoran mammals from mirorder Ferae. Hyaenodonts were important mammalian predators that arose during the early Paleocene in Europe and persisted well into the late Miocene. Characteristics Hyaenodonts are characterized by long skulls, slender jaws, slim bodies and a plantigrade stance. They generally ranged in size from 30 to 140 cm at the shoulder. While '' Simbakubwa kutokaafrika'' may have been up to (surpassing the modern polar bear in size) and ''Hyaenodon gigas'' (the largest species from genus ''Hyaenodon'') was as much as 1.4 m high at the shoulder, 3.0 m long and weighed about 330 kg, most of hyaenodonts were in the 5–15 kg range, equivalent to a mid-sized dog. The anatomy of their skulls show that they had a particularly acute sense of smell, while their teeth were adapted for shearing, rather than crushing. Because of their size range, it is probable that di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carnassial Shear
Carnassials are paired upper and lower teeth modified in such a way as to allow enlarged and often self-sharpening edges to pass by each other in a shearing manner. This adaptation is found in carnivorans, where the carnassials are the modified fourth upper premolar and the first lower molar, however this may vary in family. These teeth are also referred to as sectorial teeth. Taxonomy The name carnivoran is applied to a member of the order Carnivora. Carnivorans possess a common arrangement of teeth called carnassials, in which the first lower molar and the last upper premolar possess blade-like enamel crowns that act similar to a pair of shears for cutting meat. This dental arrangement has been modified by adaptation over the past 60 million years for diets composed of meat, for crushing vegetation, or for the loss of the carnassial function altogether as in seals, sea lions, and walruses. Carnassial dentition Carnassial teeth are modified molars (and in the case of carnivo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarkastodon
''Sarkastodon'' ("meaty tooth") is an extinct genus of mammal within the creodont family Oxyaenidae that lived during the early to late Eocene, 48.6 to 37.2 million years ago. It was a large, carnivorous animal that lived in what is today China and Mongolia. ''Sarkastodon'' is known only from a skull and jawbones. ''Sarkastodon'' was probably a hypercarnivore that preyed on large mammals in its range during the Late Eocene, such as brontotheres, chalicotheres, and rhinoceroses. Its weight is estimated at , and its length at 3 m (10 ft). Discovery The type specimens of ''S. mongoliensis'' are known from Eocene deposits from the Irdin Manha Formation of Mongolia. Additional material referred to ''Sarkastodon'' is known from the Ulan Shireb beds ( from the holotype locality) of Inner Mongolia. These specimens were discovered by Walter W. Granger in 1930, on an expedition to the Gobi Desert. Palaeobiology ''Sarkastodon'' was a hypercarnivore, with hyaena-like d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the epoch are slightly uncertain. The name Oligocene was coined in 1854 by the German paleontologist Heinrich Ernst Beyrich from his studies of marine beds in Belgium and Germany. The name comes from the Ancient Greek (''olígos'', "few") and (''kainós'', "new"), and refers to the sparsity of extant forms of molluscs. The Oligocene is preceded by the Eocene Epoch and is followed by the Miocene Epoch. The Oligocene is the third and final epoch of the Paleogene Period. The Oligocene is often considered an important time of transition, a link between the archaic world of the tropical Eocene and the more modern ecosystems of the Miocene. Major changes during the Oligocene included a global expansion o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Machaeroides
''Machaeroides'' ("dagger-like") is a genus of sabre-toothed predatory mammal that lived during the Eocene (54.9 to 46.2 mya). Its fossils were found in the U.S. state of Wyoming. Description Both species bore a passing or superficial resemblance to a very small, dog-sized saber-toothed cat. ''Machaeroides'' could be distinguished from actual saber-toothed cats by their more-elongated skulls, and their plantigrade stance. ''Machaeroides'' species are distinguished from the closely related '' Apataelurus'' by the fact that the former genus had smaller saber-teeth. Despite its small size, the genus ''Machairoides'' was well-equipped to hunt prey larger than itself, such as the small, primitive horses and rhinoceroses present at the time, as it was equipped with saber teeth and powerful forelimbs to subdue prey. ''M. eothen'' weighed an estimated , thus matching in size a small Staffordshire Terrier. ''M. simpsoni'' was probably smaller. Taxonomic placement Its position within the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dissopsalis
''Dissopsalis'' ("double scissors") is a genus of teratodontine hyaenodonts of the tribe Dissopsalini. The older species, ''D. pyroclasticus'', lived in Kenya during the middle Miocene, while the type species, ''D. carnifex'', lived in Pakistan and India during the middle to late Miocene.Barry, J. C. (1988.) "''Dissopsalis'', a middle and late Miocene proviverrine creodont (Mammalia) from Pakistan and Kenya." ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' 48(1): 25–45 ''Dissopsalis'' is the last known hyaenodont genus. It lived alongside its relative ''Hyaenodon weilini'', a member of the very successful genus ''Hyaenodon'', during the Miocene in China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and .... ''Dissopsalis'' survived to the end of the Miocene, whereas ''H. weilini'' did not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Didymictis
''Didymictis'' ("double weasel") is an extinct genus of placental mammals from extinct subfamily Didymictinae within extinct family Viverravidae, that lived in North America and Europe from the late Paleocene to middle Eocene. Description ''Didymictis'' is the only viverravid genus for which there are considerable postcranial remains. The genus was primarily terrestrial but at least partly cursorial, similar to a civets. ''Didymictis'' has an elongated and relatively large skull with small and low braincase and a long and narrow basicranial region. The occipital and sagittal crests are very high. The limbs are of moderate length with subdigitigrade and five-toed feet. The dentition () contrast those of basal carnivoraforms by the sharp differentiation between sectorial and tubercular dentition, the loss of the last molar and an elongated second molar, similar to the dentition in bears and raccoons. Comparing ''Didymictis'' to ''Vulpavus'', a much smaller and more agile carnivor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tritemnodon
''Tritemnodon'' ("three cutting teeth") was a genus of hyaeanodontids that lived during the early Eocene.Naoko Eg (2004."A new genus and species of hyaenodontid creodont from the Pondaung Formation (Eocene, Myanmar)"''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' 24(2): 502–506 Fossils of ''Tritemnodon agilis'' have been found in Utah and Wyoming (Willwood Formation of Big Horn County and the Lower Bridger Formation of Uinta County), and it was the size of a wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un .... Phylogeny The phylogenetic relationships of genus ''Tritemnodon'' are shown in the following cladogram. References Hyaenodonts Eocene mammals of North America Prehistoric placental genera {{paleo-mammal-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxyaenidae
Oxyaenidae ("sharp hyenas") is a family of extinct carnivorous placental mammals. Traditionally classified in order Creodonta, this group is now classified in its own order Oxyaenodonta ("sharp tooth hyenas") within clade Pan-Carnivora in mirorder Ferae. The group contains four subfamilies comprising fourteen genera. Oxyaenids were the first to appear during the late Paleocene in North America, while smaller radiations of oxyaenids in Europe and Asia occurred during the Eocene. Etymology The name of order Oxyaenodonta comes , name of hyena genus ''Hyaena'' and . The name of family Oxyaenidae comes , name of hyena genus ''Hyaena'' and taxonomic suffix ":wikt:-idae#Suffix, -idae". Description They were superficially cat-like mammals that plantigrade, walked on flat feet, in contrast to modern cats, which digitigrade, walk and run on their toes. Anatomically, characteristic features include a short, broad skull, deep jaws, and teeth designed for crushing rather than shearing, as in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paleocene
The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''palaiós'' meaning "old" and the Eocene Epoch (which succeeds the Paleocene), translating to "the old part of the Eocene". The epoch is bracketed by two major events in Earth's history. The K–Pg extinction event, brought on by Chicxulub impact, an asteroid impact and possibly volcanism, marked the beginning of the Paleocene and killed off 75% of living species, most famously the non-avian dinosaurs. The end of the epoch was marked by the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), which was a major climatic event wherein about 2,500–4,500 gigatons of carbon were released into the atmosphere and ocean systems, causing a spike in global temperatures and ocean acidification. In the Pal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyaenodontidae
Hyaenodontidae ("hyena teeth") is a family of extinct predatory mammals from extinct superfamily Hyaenodontoidea within extinct order Hyaenodonta. Hyaenodontids arose during the early Eocene and persisted well into the early Miocene. Fossils of this group have been found in Asia, North America and Europe. (1985): ''The Field Guide to Prehistoric Life.'' Facts on File Publications, New York. Classification and phylogeny Taxonomy * Family: †Hyaenodontidae ** Genus: †'' Boritia'' *** †''Boritia duffaudi'' ** Genus: †'' Neosinopa'' *** †''Neosinopa gobiensis'' ** Genus: †'' Praecodens'' *** †''Praecodens acutus'' ** Genus: †'' Preregidens'' *** †''Preregidens langebadrae'' ** Genus: †'' Protoproviverra'' *** †''Protoproviverra palaeonictides'' ** (unranked): †''Cynohyaenodon''/''Quercytherium'' clade *** Genus: †''Cynohyaenodon'' (paraphyletic genus) **** †''Cynohyaenodon cayluxi'' **** †''Cynohyaenodon lautricensis'' **** †''Cynohyaenodo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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