Epicyon
Name: Epicyon
(Near dog).
Phonetic: Ep-ih-sigh-on.
Named By: Joesph Leidy - 1858.
Synonyms: Aelurodon aphobus, A.
haydeni, A. inflatus, A. saevus, Osteoborus ricardoensis,
O. validus, Tephrocyon mortifer.
Classification: Chordata, Mammalia, Carnivora,
Canidae, Borophaginae.
Species: E. haydeni (type),
E.
aelurodontoides, E. saevus.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: 1.5 meters long for the larger species.
Known locations: Across North America,
particularly well-known from the United States.
Time period: Aquitanian through to the Messinian of
the Miocene.
Fossil representation: Several specimens.
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 muzzle, something
that may have enabled
it to more easily crunch bones because the jaws biting down are nearer
the fulcrum of the jaw resulting in more power. This advantage has
also been proposed as part of the feeding method for Arctodus,
better
known as the short faced bear.
While
the exact methods of hunting and prey animals for Epicyon
are not
known with certainty, other later and powerfully built canids such as
Canis
dirus (Dire Wolf) are thought to have grown
stronger so that
they could tackle larger and more powerful prey. Given its muscular
and heavy build Epicyon may have had a similar prey
preference, as it
would have been easier for it to chase and catch these types rather
than smaller and faster prey. Epicyon might have
also relied more
upon scavenging than actual hunting.
Further reading
- Phylogenetic systematics of the Borophaginae (Carnivora: Canidae) -
Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 243:1-392 - X. Wang,
R. H. Tedford & B. E. Taylor - 1999.
- Late Miocene mammals from the Mauvilla Local Fauna, Alabama -
Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History 46(1):1-28 - R. C.
Hulbert and F. C. Whitmore - 2006.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Random favourites
 |
 |
|
|