In Depth Although so far known from only a single partial skull, Acristatherium is thought to represent one of the oldest known eutherian mammals. Acristatherium probably spent most of the time hunting for invertebrate prey which could easily be caught and processed by the small but sharp teeth, while trying to stay out of sight … Read more
In Depth Mystacodon is a genus of primitive whale that lived in waters around South America during the Eocene. Mystacodon is a transitional form, somewhere between the predatory toothed whale ancestors and later filter feeding baleen whales. Mystacodon however is thought to have been a suction feeder. This is where the whale would open its … Read more
In Depth Originally described as a species of Gaviacetus, Kharodacetus is a genus of protocetid whale known to have inhabited the coastal waters of India during the Eocene. Further Reading - Protocetid cetaceans (Mammalia) from the Eocene of India. - Palaeontologia Electronica 17 (3, 34A): 19 p. - Sunil Bajpai & J. G. M. Thewissen … Read more
In Depth The fossil material for Magericyon was originally described as a species of Amphicyon until a new study by Peigne et al in 2008. Magericyon was found to be different from Amphicyon by close study of the form and proportion of the teeth. In naming the new genus the describers chose the name Magericyon … Read more
In Depth The significant thing about the discovery of Juramaia is that here you have a placental mammal appearing thirty-five million years earlier than the previously known contender Eomaia, a primitive mammal described in 2002 that was also discovered in Liaoning Province. This has helped researchers who are slowly piecing together a more complete picture … Read more
In Depth The title of biggest known rodent often gets assigned to the related Phoberomys; however the discovery of a new skull of Josephoartigasia revealed that it was quite a bit larger. These estimates however have to be based upon comparing the size of the skull of Josephoartigasia to those of other known rodents with … Read more
In Depth Further Reading Further reading- Ancient DNA evidence for the loss of a highly divergent brown bear clade during historical times. – Molecular Ecology 17 (8): 1962–1970. S. Calvignac, S. Hughes, C. Tougard, J. Michaux, M. Thevenot, M. Philippe, W. Hamdine & C. Hanni – 2008.
In Depth To begin we’ll address the on-going confusion between the validity of the names Paraceratherium, Indricotherium and Baluchitherium. These are all separate genera’s established as homes for fossil material belonging to huge terrestrial mammals that are very similar to one another in form. In fact they are so similar that many palaeontologists consider them … Read more
In Depth Further Reading – Preliminary report on the vertebrate type locality of Cita Canyon and the description of an ancestral coyote. – American Journal Science (5)35:383-390. – C. S. Johnston – 1938.
In Depth Bear dogs can often be divided into North American and Eurasian genera, but Cynelos is one of the few genera that what active across both of these areas as well as Africa, a range proven by the discovery of multiple remains on all of these continents. Because Cynelos was a large Miocene era … Read more