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Megalictis Ferox
''Megalictis'' is an extinct genus of large predatory mustelids that existed in North America during the "cat gap" from the Late Arikareean (Ar4) in the Miocene epoch. It is thought to have resembled a huge ferret, with a body mass of up to . History of discovery The genus ''Megalictis'' was first described by W. D. Matthew in 1907, and assigned to the family Mustelidae.Paleobiology Database Two similar genera discovered at the same time, ''Aelurocyon'' (Peterson, 1907) and ''Paroligobunis'' (Peterson, 1910) were identified as synonymous with ''Megalictis'' in 1996Andersson, p.39 though ''Paroligobunis'' was re-established as a separate genus in 1998. Philip R. Bjork, P. R. Bjork, in 1970, assigned the genus to the subfamily Mellivorinae, whilst J. A. Baskin reassigned it to Oligobuninae in 1998. Three species have been identified in the genus: ''M. ferox'', ''M. petersoni'', and ''M. frazieri'', whilst two more, ''Megalictis brevifacies'' and ''Megalictis simplicidens'', have sin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern marine invertebrates than the Pliocene has. The Miocene is preceded by the Oligocene and is followed by the Pliocene. As Earth went from the Oligocene through the Miocene and into the Pliocene, the climate slowly cooled towards a series of ice ages. The Miocene boundaries are not marked by a single distinct global event but consist rather of regionally defined boundaries between the warmer Oligocene and the cooler Pliocene Epoch. During the Early Miocene, the Arabian Peninsula collided with Eurasia, severing the connection between the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, and allowing a faunal interchange to occur between Eurasia and Africa, including the dispersal of proboscideans into Eurasia. During the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
