In Depth Cynodictis was an early member of the Amphicyonidae, a group of mammalian predators that are much better known as ‘bear dogs’. This is not all that surprising however when you consider that Cynodictis was also one of the earliest amphicyonids and usually the earlier members of a group are smaller than the later … Read more
In Depth Originally described as a species of Miacis, M. winkleri, the species was split from Miacis and re-established as a distinct genus called Gracilocyon in 2010. Another former Miacis species, M. rosei has also been attributed Gracilocyon. Gracilocyon would have still been similar to Miacis in form and size, and would have hunted other … Read more
In Depth Further Reading - Acinonyx pardinensis (Carnivora, Felidae) from the Early Pleistocene of Pantalla (Italy): predatory behavior and ecological role of the giant Plio-Pleistocene cheetah. - Quarternary Science Reviews 87 82-97 - Marco Cherin, Dawid Adam Iurino, Raffaele Sardella & Lorenzo Rool - 2014.
In Depth Palaeocastor is most famous for the elaborate spiral burrows (popularly known as devil’s corkscrews) that it actually dug out using its teeth instead of its claws. These burrows were discovered long before the first specimen of Palaeocastor was identified, and had previously been interpreted as being the fossilised remains of aquatic sponges or … Read more
In Depth Since the early days of palaeontology many genera of brontotheres have been named from North America, though now after over one hundred and fifty years of continuous study and discovery, many of these have now been perceived to be synonymous with the genus Megacerops. Some of these names include genera such as Brontops … Read more
In Depth Nimravus - Not a Cat! Nimravus is the type genus of the Nimravidae group of mammals that are better known as the ‘false sabre-toothed cats’. This is because while Nimravus and others like it looked like the big cats, they actually evolved from a different line of mammals than the true cats that … Read more
In Depth Cynthiacetus was very similar to the famous Basilosaurus, one of the largest and most famous of the primitive archaeocetid whales. In fact the skull of Cynthiacetus is very similar to the skull of Basilosaurus in both size and form, but Cynthiacetus is known to be different by the simple observation that the vertebrae … Read more
In Depth Mammacyon was a ‘bear dog’ that has been assigned to the Temnocyoninae, and not surprisingly is thought to have been considered to be similar to the group type genus Temnocyon. Mammacyon seems to have been active at the same time as Temnocyon as well as many of the same locations, although the current … Read more
In Depth Remains of Sinobaatar have been found inside the compsognathid dinosaur Sinosauropteryx proving that mammals like Sinobaatar along with others like Zhangheotherium were preyed upon by these kinds of dinosaur. Further Reading Further reading- Sinobaatar gen. nov.: first multituberculate mammal from the Jehol Biota of Liaoning, northeast China. – Chinese Science Bulletin 47(11):933-938. – … Read more
In Depth A little known creodont genus, Apterodon fossil locations so far suggest that the genus roamed across Europe and North Africa from the late Eocene to early Oligocene periods. Although a creodont and a predator, Apterodon lacks the carnassial (blade-like meat shearing) teeth that are seen in other creodonts. This may indicate a different … Read more