In Depth Borophagus is the last of the known line of ‘bone-crunching dogs’ (also known as ‘hyena dogs’) that roamed the plains of North America. Although Borophagus was smaller than its ancestors such as Epicyon, its skull was considerably better adapted to crushing bones. This seems to be a trait of a creature that relied … Read more
In Depth A relative of such genera as Aelurodon and Borophagus, Tomarctus is another one of the hyena-like ‘bone crushing’ dogs of the Miocene. This description comes from the attachments for powerful jaw closing muscles and short muzzle which means that when borophagine canids like Tomarctus bit on something, it was closer to the point … Read more
In Depth Although it had a skull more like that of a big cat, Epicyon was an early ancestor to canines. Epicyon is noted for having an incredibly powerful body that may have weighed up to one hundred and seventy kilograms (for Epicyon haydeni). Its unusually shaped skull meant that Epicyon had a very short … Read more
In Depth Along with the type genus Borophagus, Aelurodon is one of the better known of the so called ‘bone crushing dogs’ of the Borophaginae. Canids like Aelurodon got their nickname from the form of their short snouts which have also been described as hyena-like. Because of their shortness, the snout force food towards the … Read more