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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] |
Sexual Dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most animals and some plants. Differences may include secondary sex characteristics, size, weight, colour, markings, or behavioural or cognitive traits. These differences may be subtle or exaggerated and may be subjected to sexual selection and natural selection. The opposite of dimorphism is ''monomorphism'', which is when both biological sexes are phenotypically indistinguishable from each other. Overview Ornamentation and coloration Common and easily identified types of dimorphism consist of ornamentation and coloration, though not always apparent. A difference in coloration of sexes within a given species is called sexual dichromatism, which is commonly seen in many species of birds and reptiles. Sexual selection leads to the exaggerated dim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White River Fauna
The White River Fauna are fossil animals found in the White River Badlands of South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska in the United States including Badlands National Park. The fossils have been found in the White River Formation, Chadron Formation, Brule Formation, and the Arikaree Formation. Animals from the White River Badlands date from the Eocene, Oligocene, the Miocene, and the Pliocene Epochs. List Genera include: See also * :White River Fauna Further reading * Rachel Benton, ''The White River Badlands: Geology and Paleontology'', Indiana University Press 2015 * William Berryman Scott William Berryman Scott (February 12, 1858 – March 29, 1947) was an American vertebrate paleontologist, authority on mammals, and principal author of the White River Oligocene monographs. He was a professor of geology and paleontology at P ..., ''A history of land mammals in the western hemisphere'', MacMillan Publishing Company, 1913 References Paleogene animals ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miocene Mammals Of North America
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ... 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, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miocene Mustelids
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 late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prehistoric Mustelids
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of symbols, marks, and images appears very early among humans, but the earliest known writing systems appeared 5000 years ago. It took thousands of years for writing systems to be widely adopted, with writing spreading to almost all cultures by the 19th century. The end of prehistory therefore came at very different times in different places, and the term is less often used in discussing societies where prehistory ended relatively recently. In the early Bronze Age, Sumer in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley Civilisation, and ancient Egypt were the first civilizations to develop their own scripts and to keep historical records, with their neighbors following. Most other civilizations reached the end of prehistory during the following Iron Age. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cheetah
The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized adaptations for speed, including a light build, long thin legs and a long tail. It typically reaches at the shoulder, and the head-and-body length is between . Adults weigh between . Its head is small and rounded, with a short snout and black tear-like facial streaks. The coat is typically tawny to creamy white or pale buff and is mostly covered with evenly spaced, solid black spots. Four subspecies are recognised. The cheetah lives in three main social groups: females and their cubs, male "coalitions", and solitary males. While females lead a nomadic life searching for prey in large home ranges, males are more sedentary and instead establish much smaller territories in areas with plentiful prey and access to females. The cheetah is act ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plesiogulo
''Plesiogulo'' is a genus of prehistoric carnivore that lived from Miocene to Pliocene of Africa, Eurasia and North America. An ancestral relationship to the wolverine (''Gulo gulo'') was once suggested, but it is no longer considered likely. However, some authorities still consider it a member of the Guloninae Guloninae is a subfamily of the mammal family Mustelidae distributed across Eurasia and the Americas. It includes martens and the fisher, tayra and wolverine. These genera were formerly included within a paraphyletic definition of the mustelid su .... Species The following species have been currently described for this genus: * †'' P. brachygnathus'' (Schlosser, 1903) * †'' P. botori'' Haile-Selassie, Hlusko & Howell, 2004 * †'' P. crassa'' Teilhard de Chardin, 1945 * †'' P. marshalli'' (Martin, 1928) * † ''P.'' ''lindsayi'' Harrison, 1981 * †'' P. monspessulanus'' Viret, 1939 * †'' P. praecocidens'' Kurtén, 1970 References External linksWhat Exactly I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eomellivora
''Eomellivora'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric mustelids, closely related to the honey badger, known from Eurasia and North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ..., and tentatively Africa. It was one of the biggest mustelids ever known, bigger and more hypercarnivorous than the modern wolverine. ''Eomellivora'' was long thought to contain only one species, ''E. wimani'', with Wolsan and Semenov (1996) treating ''E. piveteaui'' as a younger subspecies of ''E. wimani'', but new remains of ''E. piveteaui'' described in 2015 allowed for recognition of ''E. piveteaui'' as distinct from ''E. wimani'', but also treatment of ''E. ursogulo'' (Orlov, 1948) and ''E. hungarica'' Kretzoi, 1942 from the eastern Paratethys region. The placement of the African species ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ekorus
''Ekorus ekakeran'' is a large, extinct mustelid mammal. Fossils, including largely complete skeletons, are known from the late Miocene of Kenya. Description ''Ekorus'' reached almost , comparably to a wolf and much bigger than the modern honey badger ('' Mellivora capensis''). Standing tall at the shoulders, its build was not similar to that of modern mustelids. Small, modern-day weasels have short legs and can only achieve short bursts of speed. Living large mustelids are either aquatic predators (the otters, Lutrinae), or terrestrial animals with a crouching stance and heavy limbs with adaptations for digging (the wolverine, and various groups called badgers). ''Ekorus'' is a representative of an extinct ecological type of mustelid – large stalking and running mammals comparable to dogs, cats, hyenas, and amphicyonids. The legs of ''Ekorus'' are built like those of leopards. The face is short, with a felid-like tooth pattern; Ekorus was a hypercarnivore. Analysis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ursus Americanus
Ursus is Latin for bear. It may also refer to: Animals *Ursus (mammal), ''Ursus'' (mammal), a genus of bears People * Ursus of Aosta, 6th-century evangelist * Ursus of Auxerre, 6th-century bishop * Ursus of Solothurn, 3rd-century martyr * Ursus (praefectus urbi), Ursus (''praefectus urbi'') of Constantinople in 415-416 * Reimarus Ursus, an astronomer and imperial mathematician to Rudolf II * Ursus, a pen-name of Ambrose Bierce Fictional characters * Ursus, the bodyguard of Ligia, a minor character in the novel ''Quo Vadis (novel), Quo Vadis'' * Ursus, a character in Victor Hugo's novel ''The Man Who Laughs'' * General Ursus (Planet of the Apes), a character in ''Beneath the Planet of the Apes'' * Ursus (film character), a character in a series of 1960s Italian adventure films Arts * Ursus (film), ''Ursus'' (film), 1961 Italian film Science and technology * Ursus (journal), ''Ursus'' (journal), a scientific journal published by the International Association for Bear Research and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
