''Osbornodon'' ("
Osborn's tooth") is an extinct genus of
canid
Canidae (; from Latin, '' canis'', " dog") is a biological family of dog-like carnivorans, colloquially referred to as dogs, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (). There are three subfamilies found withi ...
that were endemic to
North America and which lived from the
Oligocene to the
Early Miocene
The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages: the Aquitanian age, Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages.
The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 annum, Ma to ...
, 33.9—15.97
Ma (
AEO), existing for approximately .
Paleobiology Database: ''Osbornodon''
It was the last surviving genus of the hesperocyonine subfamily, the oldest subfamily of canids.[
]
Species
Seven known species of ''Osbornodon'' existed:
*''Osbornodon brachypus'' Cope 1881
*''Osbornodon fricki'' Wang 1994 (18 Ma)
*''Osbornodon iamonensis
''Osbornodon iamonensis'' is an extinct species of hesperocyonine, a predecessor of modern dogs that were endemic to North America and which lived from the Oligocene to Early Miocene epoch 23.6—16.3 Ma and existed for approximately . It was n ...
'' Sellards 1916 (21 Ma)
*''Osbornodon renjiei'' Wang 1994 (33 Ma)
*''Osbornodon sesnoni'' Macdonald 1967 (32 Ma)
*''Osbornodon scitulus'' Hay 1924
*''Osbornodon wangi'' Hayes 2000
The earlier species were about the size of a small fox, and had teeth suggesting an omnivorous or hypocarnivorous diet. Later species were larger and more actively predaceous. The last species, ''O. fricki'', was about the size of a large wolf.
References
*R. M. Nowak. 1991. Walker's Mammals of the World. Maryland, Johns Hopkins University Press (edited volume) II (K. Behrensmeyer/K. Behrensmeyer/J. Alroy)
Hesperocyonines
Oligocene carnivorans
Miocene carnivorans
Prehistoric carnivoran genera
Burdigalian genus extinctions
Prehistoric mammals of North America
Rupelian genus first appearances
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