Name:
Megalictis.
Phonetic: Meg-ah-lik-tiss.
Named By: William Diller Matthew - 1907.
Synonyms: Aelurocyon brevifacies,
Brachypsalis simplicidens, Megalictis brevifacies, Megalictis
simplicidens, Paroligobunis, simplicidens.
Classification: Chordata, Mammalia, Carnivora,
Mustelidae, Oligobuninae.
Species: M. ferox (type),
M. frazieri, M. petersoni.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Estimated between 20 and 60
kilograms, but opinions amongst palaeontologists can vary greatly.
Known locations: USA.
Time period: Harrisonian (Late Chattian of the
Oligocne to Aquitanian of the Miocene).
Fossil representation: Multiple individuals.
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 as much as sixty kilograms if not bigger.
Today
Megalictis is often
described as being physically similar to the wolverine (Gulo gulo)
only much bigger. With this in mind it was probably a generalist
predator that could adapt to tackling a variety of different prey that
could have also included other small predators as well as herbivores.
Because of the physical proportions and joints of the limbs,
Megalictis was better suited towards ambush hunting
rather than open
pursuit. Megalictis probably existed in the same
predatory niche as
its large relative Ekorus
from Africa.
Further reading
- A Lower Miocene fauna from South Dakota. - Bulletin of the American
Museum of Natural History 23(9):169-219. - W. D. Matthew - 1907.
- The Miocene Beds of Western Nebraska and Eastern Wyoming and Their
Vertebrate Faunae. - Annals of Carnegie Museum 4(3):21-72. - O. A.
Peterson - 1907.
- An Early Miocene (Arikareean) fauna from northcentral Florida (the
SB-1A Local Fauna). Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural History.
- University of Kansas 75:1-20. - D. Frailey - 1978.
- The giant mustelid Megalictis from the Early
Miocene carnivore dens
at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, earliest evidence of dimorphism
in New World Mustelidae. - Contributions to Geology (31): 35–48. - R.
H. Hunt Jr. & R. Skolnick - 1996.
- Megalictis, the bone-crushing giant mustelid
(Carnivora, Mustelidae,
Oligobuninae) from the Early Miocene of North America. - PLOS ONE. 11
(4): e0152430. - Alberto Valenciano, Jon A. Baskin, Juan Abella,
Alejandro P�rez-Ramos, M. �ngeles �lvarez-Sierra, Jorge Morales
& Adam Hartstone-Rose - 2016.