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 Originally thought to represent an extinct species of Cerdocyon (crab eating fox), C. avius was moved to its own genus and named Ferrucyon in 2020. Ferrucyon is also thought to be more of a vulpine type of fox. Further reading - The Pliocene canid Cerdocyon avius was not the type of fox that … Read more
In Depth Originally named as a species of Miacis, Gustafsonia is a genus of small amphicyonid that lived in North America during the Eocene/Oligocene. The amphicyonids are more colloquially known as ‘bear dogs’, though Gustafsonia would have likely been more like a civet in form, and a predator of small animals. Further Reading - Whence … Read more
In Depth Further Reading – The late Cenozoic vertebrate faunas from the San Pedro Valley, Ariz. – Proceedings of the United States National Museum 92: 475–518. – C. L. Gazin – 1942.
In Depth Morphologically Puijila looks a lot like an otter, however while otters are classed as musteloid mammals, the skull and teeth of Puijila clearly indicate that it was a pinneped, more commonly called a seal. As an early pinneped Puijila has helped to plug a gap in evolutionary theory concerning the appearance of seals … Read more
In Depth Further Reading Further reading- New carnivore material from the Plio-Pleistocene of Macedonia (Greece) with the description of a new canid. – Munchner Geowissenschaft Abteilung A 34:33-63. – G. D. Koufos & D.S. Kostopoulos – 1997.
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 Prosansanosmilus is similar to another European genus of barbourofelid called Sansanosmilus, but is known from deposits that are dated to being a few million years older than the earliest currently known fossils of Sansanosmilus, hence the addition of ‘Pro’ to the genus name. The early appearance of Prosansanosmilus is also revealed in its … Read more
In Depth Further Reading – Laetoli: a Pliocene Site in Northern Tanzania. – Clarendon Press, Oxford, Great Britain – M. D. Leakey & J. M. Harris – 1987. – Basicranial anatomy of the giant viverrid from ‘E’ Quarry, Langebaanweg, South Africa. Palaeoecology and Palaeoenvironments of Late Cenozoic Mammals. – Tributes to the Career of C. … Read more
In Depth Whereas most modern mustelids are relatively small predators that hunt small animals, Megalictis was the prehistoric giant that was comparable to modern dogs and big cats. However exactly how big remains a matter of debate amongst researchers with some saying that Megalictis was relatively light weight at around twenty kilograms, with others suggesting … Read more