''Sinopa'' ("swift fox") is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

hyaenodontid Hyaenodontidae (" hyena teeth") is a family of extinct predatory mammals from extinct superfamily Hyaenodontoidea within extinct order Hyaenodonta. Hyaenodontids arose during the early Eocene and persisted well into the early Miocene. Fossils of ...

mammal from family

Sinopidae Sinopidae ("swift foxes") is a family of extinct predatory mammals from extinct order Hyaenodonta. Fossil remains of these mammals are known from early to middle Eocene deposits in North America, Europe and Asia. Classification and phylogeny Tax ...

, that lived in

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

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

during the early to middle

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

Description

''Sinopa'' was a small genus of hyaenodontid mammals. Its

carnassial Carnassials are paired upper and lower teeth modified in such a way as to allow enlarged and often self-sharpening edges to pass by each other in a shearing manner. This adaptation is found in carnivorans, where the carnassials are the modified f ...

teeth were the second upper molar and the lower third. ''Sinopa'' species had an estimated weight of 1.33 to 13.97 kilograms. The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...

was found in the Bridger formation in

Uinta County, Wyoming Uinta County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 20,450. Its county seat is Evanston. Its south and west boundary lines abut the Utah state line. Uinta County comprises the Eva ...

, and existed 50.3 to 46.2 million years ago.

Taxonomy

The putative African species ''"Sinopa" ethiopica'' from

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

was considered a species of '' Metasinopa'' by Savage (1965), although Holroyd (1994) considered it a potential new genus related to '' Quasiapterodon''.Lewis, M. E., Morlo, M. (2010): Creodonta. – In : Werdelin, L., Sanders, W. (eds), Cenozoic Mammals of Africa. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp. 543–560. https://doi.org/10.1525/california/9780520257214.003.0026

Phylogeny

The phylogenetic relationships of genus ''Sinopa'' are shown in the following cladogram.G. F. Gunnell (1998.) "Creotonda." In C. M. Janis, K. M. Scott, and L. L. Jacobs (eds.), "Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America, Volume 1: Terrestrial Carnivores, Ungulates, and Ungulate like Mammals"

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7524925 Hyaenodonts Eocene mammals of North America Eocene United States Eocene genus first appearances Fossil taxa described in 1871 Prehistoric placental genera

Description

Taxonomy

Phylogeny

See also

References