In Depth Although so far only known from teeth, Crusafontia is thought to have been a squirrel-like mammal. This idea however is based upon comparison to other similar mammals with similar teeth known from this time. Further Reading – Zwei Saugetier-Unterkiefer aus der Unteren Kreide von Una (Prov. Cuenca, Spanien). 1969:449-462. – S. Henkel and … Read more
In Depth Komba is an extinct genus of galago, alternatively known as a bushbaby, that lived in Africa during the Miocene. Further Reading Further reading- Chapter 20: Later Tertiary Lorisiformes (Strepsirrhini, Primates), by Terry Harrison. – In, Cenozoic Mammals of Africa. University of California Press. pp. 333–349. – L. Werdelin & W. J. Sanders – … Read more
In Depth Propyrotherium was a genus of pyrotheriid mammal that lived in South America during the Eocene. Propyrotherium was so named because of its similarity to and earlier occurrence to the genus Pyrotherium. Further Reading - Notices pr�liminaires sur des ongul�s nouveaux des terrains cr�tac�s de Patagonie [Preliminary notes on new ungulates from the Cretaceous … Read more
In Depth Dimaitherium is a genus of mammal closely related to modern hyraxes that lived in Egypt during the Eocene. Further Reading - A primitive hyracoid (Mammalia, Paenungulata) from the early Priabonian (Late Eocene) of Egypt. - Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 8(2):213-244. - E. Barrow, E. R. Seiffert & E. L. Simons - 2010.
In Depth A very primitive genus of hyena, Protictitherium has actually been more loosely interpreted as like a civet in terms of physical appearance. Further Reading - Late Miocene carnivores of the Greco-Iranian Province: Composition, guild structure and palaeoecology - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 305: 215 - G. D. Koufos & G. E. Konidaris - 2011.
In Depth Taikicetus is a genus of baleen whale that lived in waters around Japan during the Miocene. Further Reading - A new species of Middle Miocene baleen whale from the Nupinai Group, Hikatagawa Formation of Hokkaido, Japan. - PeerJ 6:e4934. - Y. Tanaka, T. Ando & H. Sawamura - 2018.
In Depth Mesonyx has been repeatedly identified as a wolf-like predator due to its similar size and overall appearance to modern wolves; although it’s important to mention that it was not directly related to modern wolves as Mesonyx appeared (and disappeared) long before the direct ancestors of them. Still, Mesonyx probably filled the same ecological … Read more
In Depth Diunatans is a genus of rorqual whale that would have been swimming around in what is now the North Sea during the early Pliocene. Further Reading - A new fossil rorqual (Mammalia, Cetacea, Balaenopteridae) from the Early Pliocene of the North Sea, with a review of the rorqual species described by Owen and … Read more
In Depth Tylocephalonyx is noted for being one of the dome headed chalicotheres due to the enlarged cranial dome of the skull which is the reason for the first two parts of the name which mean ‘knob head’. The rear part of the name is a reference to the claws on the hands that were … Read more
In Depth Diorocetus was first named from fossils recovered from the United States by R. Kellog in 1968, establishing the type species Diorocetus hiatus. Then in 2003 and 2008 respectively two new species, Diorocetus chichibuensis and Diorocetus shobarensis were named from fossils discovered in Japan. Out of these D. shobarensis seems to be the earliest … Read more