''Quercygale'' is an extinct genus of
Miacidae
Miacids are extinct primitive carnivoramorphans within the family Miacidae that lived during the Paleocene and Eocene epochs, about 62–34 million years ago. Miacids existed for approximately .
Miacids are thought to have evolved into the ...
, primitive
carnivores
A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other so ...
that lived during the
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...
.
The genus contains four species: ''Q. angustidens'', ''Q. hastingsae'', ''Q. helvetica'', and ''Q. smithi''.
[ Phylogenetic analysis of the basicranial morphology of miacid carnivoramorphans suggests ''Quercygale'' is the most advanced miacid and sister to crown group Carnivora, predating the split between ]Feliformia
Feliformia is a suborder within the order Carnivora consisting of "cat-like" carnivorans, including cats (large and small), hyenas, mongooses, viverrids, and related taxa. Feliformia stands in contrast to the other suborder of Carnivora, Canifor ...
and Caniformia.,[ although another recent study places them as a stem group within Feliformia.]
Taxonomy
Sources
External links
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Miacids
Eocene carnivorans
Prehistoric mammals of Europe
Prehistoric placental genera
†
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