''Yantanglestes'' 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 ...

of small, Chinese

mesonychid Mesonychia ("middle claws") is an extinct taxon of small- to large-sized carnivorous ungulates related to artiodactyls. Mesonychids first appeared in the early Paleocene, went into a sharp decline at the end of the Eocene, and died out entirely ...

with slender jaws that first appeared during the Early Paleocene in the Thanetian stage. It was found throughout

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 ...

. It is the oldest known mesonychid. ''Yantanglestes'' became extinct during the Nongshanian division of the Late Paleocene,Missiaen, Pieter. "亚洲早古近纪哺乳动物生物年代学与生物地理学的新认识."古脊椎动物学报 49.1 (2011)
paper
/ref> and lived

sympatric In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sh ...

ally with its descendant genera, including ''

Dissacus ''Dissacus'' is a genus of extinct carnivorous jackal to coyote-sized mammals within the family Mesonychidae, an early group of hoofed mammals that evolved into hunters and omnivores. Their fossils are found in Paleocene to Early Eocene aged stra ...

'', ''

Sinonyx ''Sinonyx'' ("Chinese claw") is a genus of extinct, superficially wolf-like mesonychid mammals from the late Paleocene of China (about 56 million years ago). It is within the family Mesonychidae, and cladistic analysis of a skull of ''Sinonyx'' ...

'' and '' Jiangxia''.

References

External links

Science
Mesonychids Paleocene mammals Thanetian life Paleocene mammals of Asia Paleogene China Prehistoric animals of China Fossil taxa described in 1980 Prehistoric placental genera {{paleo-mammal-stub