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Ailuridae
Ailuridae is a family in the mammal order Carnivora. The family consists of the red panda (the sole living representative) and its extinct relatives. Georges Cuvier first described ''Ailurus'' as belonging to the raccoon family in 1825; this classification has been controversial ever since. It was classified in the raccoon family because of morphological similarities of the head, colored ringed tail, and other morphological and ecological characteristics. Somewhat later, it was assigned to the bear family. Molecular phylogenetic studies had shown that, as an ancient species in the order Carnivora, the red panda is relatively close to the American raccoon and may be either a monotypic family or a subfamily within the procyonid family. An in-depth mitochondrial DNA population analysis study stated: "According to the fossil record, the Red Panda diverged from its common ancestor with bears about 40 million years ago." With this divergence, by comparing the sequence difference ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Panda
The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzle and a ringed tail. Its head-to-body length is with a tail, and it weighs between . It is well adapted to climbing due to its flexible joints and curved semi-retractile claws. The red panda was formally Species description, described in 1825. The two currently recognised subspecies, the Himalayan and the Chinese red panda, Genetic divergence, genetically diverged about 250,000 years ago. The red panda's place on the Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree has been debated, but modern genetic evidence places it in close affinity with Procyonidae, raccoons, Mustelidae, weasels, and Mephitidae, skunks. It is not closely related to the giant panda, which is a bear, though both possess elongated wrist bones or "Sesamoid bone#Other animals, fal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simocyon
''Simocyon'' ("short-snouted dog") is a genus of extinct carnivoran mammal in the family Ailuridae. ''Simocyon'', which was about the size of a mountain lion, lived in the late Miocene and early Pliocene epochs, and has been found in Europe, Asia, and rarely, North America and Africa. Classification The relationship of ''Simocyon'' to other carnivores has been controversial, but studies of the structure of its ear, teeth, and ankle now indicate that its closest living relative is the red panda, '' Ailurus'', although it is different enough to be classified in a separate subfamily (Simocyoninae) along with related genera '' Alopecocyon'' and ''Actiocyon''. Palaeoecology While the red panda is primarily herbivorous, the teeth and skull of ''Simocyon'' indicate that it was carnivorous, and it may have engaged in some bone-crushing, like living hyenas. The skeleton of ''Simocyon'' indicates that, like the red panda, it could climb trees, although it probably also spent consider ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Musteloidea
Musteloidea is a superfamily (taxonomy), superfamily of carnivoran mammals united by shared characteristics of the skull and teeth. Musteloids are the sister group of pinnipeds, the group which includes seals. Musteloidea comprises the following families: * Ailuridae, the red panda (and its extinct kin). * Mephitidae, the skunks and stink badgers. * Mustelidae, the weasel (mustelid) family, including new- and old-world badgers, ferrets and polecats, Fisher (animal), fishers, grisons and honey badger, ratels, martens and Martes zibellina, sables, minks, River otter (other), river and sea otters, stoats and Weasel, ermines, tayras and wolverines. * Procyonidae, the raccoons and raccoon-like procyonids, including coatimundis, kinkajous, olingos, olinguitos, ring-tailed cat, ringtails and cacomistles. In North America, ursoid, ursids (bears) and musteloids first appeared in the Chadronian of the late Eocene, and in early-Oligocene Europe, immediately following the Eocene ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphictis
''Amphictis'' is an extinct genus of ailurid that existed from the Late Oligocene to the Middle Miocene with fossils found in Eurasia and North America with a total of nine described species. The interrelationships of the different species as well as their relationship to the other ailurids is not fully understood. Usually ''Amphictis'' is classified in the basal monotypic subfamily Amphictinae, but there is no certainty as the genus could potentially be a paraphyletic with the Oligocene species ''A. borbonica'' being a potential sister taxon to the ancestor of the subfamily Ailurinae (today consisting just the red panda), while a Middle Miocene clade consisting of an anagenesis line from ''A. prolongata''–to–''A. wintershofensis''–to–''A. cuspida'' being closer to the ancestry of the now extinct Simocyoninae (with ''A. wintershofensis'' being the sister taxon to the clade). This is due to the nature of their plesiomorphic nature of their anatomy. Taxonomy The first and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ailurinae
Ailurinae is a subfamily of Ailuridae (of which this is the only extant subfamily out of three). While it is represented by the extant genus ''Ailurus'', there were a handful of genera whose fossils have been found across the Holarctic region. These include the Middle Miocene '' Magerictis'' of Spain, the Early Pliocene '' Pristinailurus'' of the United States of America and their sister taxon '' Parailurus'' of Eurasia and North America in the Pliocene. Unlike ''Ailurus'' which is a specialized arboreal bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ... forager, the extinct ailurine species were more generalized and spent their time foraging on the ground. References {{Taxonbar, from=Q20679566 Ailuridae Carnivorans Mammal subfamilies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carnivora
Carnivora ( ) is an order of placental mammals specialized primarily in eating flesh, whose members are formally referred to as carnivorans. The order Carnivora is the sixth largest order of mammals, comprising at least 279 species. Carnivorans are found on every major landmass and in a variety of habitats, ranging from the cold polar regions of Earth to the hyper-arid region of the Sahara Desert and the open seas. Carnivorans exhibit a wide array of body plans, varying greatly in size and shape. Carnivora are divided into two suborders, the Feliformia, containing the true felids and several animals; and the Caniformia, containing the true canids and many animals. The feliforms include the Felidae, Viverridae, hyena, and mongoose families, the majority of which live only in the Old World; cats are the only exception, occurring in the Old World and the New World, entering the Americas via the Bering land bridge. The caniforms include the Caninae, Procyonidae, bears, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pristinailurus
''Pristinailurus bristoli'' is a fossil species in the carnivoran family Ailuridae, well-represented in the Hemphillian deposits at the Gray Fossil Site The Gray Fossil Site is an Early Pliocene assemblage of fossils dating between 4.5 and 4.9 million years old, located near the community of Gray in Washington County, Tennessee, USA. The site was discovered during road construction on Tennessee ... in Gray, Tennessee. It was significantly larger than the living ''Ailurus'' but probably possessed a weaker bite. Males appear to have been as much as twice the size of females. References Ailuridae Miocene musteloids Neogene mammals of North America Monotypic prehistoric carnivoran genera {{paleo-carnivora-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simocyoninae
Simocyoninae is an extinct subfamily of Ailuridae (of which the only recent member is the red panda). The taxonomic history of this group was complicated, as researchers placed various fossil caniform genera into the subfamily. In addition to ''Simocyon'', there was also '' Oligobunis'' (an early mustelid), ''Cephalogale'' (a stem-bear), and '' Enhydrocyon'' (a hesperocyonine canid). This subfamily was initially classified within the Canidae or dog family. This idea went even further in 1910 when American paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn considered dholes, African wild dogs, and bush dogs to be the only extant representation left of the simocyonines. This was in large part to the overall similarity in the morphology of their molars, which suggested a shared ancestry of hypercarnivory. This view point was not supported by European paleontologists who believed that ''Simocyon'' was more closely related to musteloids. Soon the Simocyoninae were found as extinct subfamily of pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Bears are found on the continents of North America, South America, and Eurasia. Common characteristics of modern bears include large bodies with stocky legs, long snouts, small rounded ears, shaggy hair, plantigrade paws with five nonretractile claws, and short tails. While the polar bear is mostly carnivorous, and the giant panda is mostly herbivorous, the remaining six species are omnivorous with varying diets. With the exception of courtship display, courting individuals and mothers with their young, bears are typically solitary animals. They may be diurnality, diurnal or nocturnal and have an excellent sense of smell. Despite their heavy build and awk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Procyonidae
Procyonidae ( ) is a New World family of the order Carnivora. It includes the raccoons, ringtails, cacomistles, coatis, kinkajous, olingos, and olinguitos. Procyonids inhabit a wide range of environments and are generally omnivorous. Characteristics Procyonids are relatively small animals, with generally slender bodies and long tails, though the common raccoon tends to be bulky. Because of their general build, the Procyonidae are often popularly viewed as smaller cousins of the bear family. This is apparent in their German name, ''Kleinbären'' (small bears), including the names of the species: a raccoon is called a ''Waschbär'' (washing bear, as it "washes" its food before eating), a coati is a ''Nasenbär'' (nose-bear), while a kinkajou is a ''Honigbär'' (honey-bear). Dutch follows suit, calling the animals ''wasbeer'', ''neusbeer'' and ''rolstaartbeer'' (curl-tail bear) respectively. However, it is now believed that procyonids are more closely related to musteli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Procyonid
Procyonidae ( ) is a New World family (biology), family of the order (biology), order Carnivora. It includes the Procyon (genus), raccoons, ringtails, cacomistles, coatis, kinkajous, olingos, and olinguitos. Procyonids inhabit a wide range of environments and are generally omnivorous. Characteristics Procyonids are relatively small animals, with generally slender bodies and long tails, though the common raccoon tends to be bulky. Because of their general build, the Procyonidae are often popularly viewed as smaller cousins of the bear family. This is apparent in their German language, German name, ''Kleinbären'' (small bears), including the names of the species: a raccoon is called a ''Waschbär'' (washing bear, as it "washes" its food before eating), a coati is a ''Nasenbär'' (nose-bear), while a kinkajou is a ''Honigbär'' (honey-bear). Dutch Language, Dutch follows suit, calling the animals ''wasbeer'', ''neusbeer'' and ''rolstaartbeer'' (curl-tail bear) respectively. Howe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
