''Borhyaena'' is an extinct genus of South American

metatheria Metatheria is a mammalian clade that includes all mammals more closely related to marsupials than to placentals. First proposed by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1880, it is a more inclusive group than the marsupials; it contains all marsupials as well ...

n, living between 17.5 and 15.5 million years ago in Patagonia, Argentina ( Santa Cruz and

Sarmiento Formation The Sarmiento Formation (Spanish: ''Formación Sarmiento''), in older literature described as the Casamayor Formation, is a geological formation in Chubut Province, Argentina, in central Patagonia, which spans around 30 million years from the mid- ...

s) and Chile (

Río Frias Formation Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

).''Borhyaena''
at

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.org

Description

''Borhyaena'' was a predator and had a large head and a long, powerful neck similar to living hyenas. Its legs were

cursorial A cursorial organism is one that is adapted specifically to run. An animal can be considered cursorial if it has the ability to run fast (e.g. cheetah) or if it can keep a constant speed for a long distance (high endurance). "Cursorial" is often u ...

, albeit less specialized than those of wolves or the marsupial thylacine. The most complete specimen is estimated to have weighted and stood at the shoulders.

References

External links

* Sparassodonts Miocene mammals of South America Friasian Santacrucian Colhuehuapian Neogene Argentina Fossils of Argentina Neogene Chile Fossils of Chile Fossil taxa described in 1887 Taxa named by Florentino Ameghino Prehistoric mammal genera Golfo San Jorge Basin Sarmiento Formation {{paleo-mammal-stub