Hemicyoninae is an
extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
subfamily of
Ursidae
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nort ...
,
often called dog bears (literally "half dog" (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: )). They were bear-like
carnivora
Carnivora is a Clade, monophyletic order of Placentalia, placental mammals consisting of the most recent common ancestor of all felidae, cat-like and canidae, dog-like animals, and all descendants of that ancestor. Members of this group are f ...
ns living in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
,
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
,
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
during the
Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but t ...
through
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
epochs 33.9–5.3
Ma, existing for approximately . They are sometimes classified as a separate
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
.
[McKenna, Malcolm C., and Bell, Susan K. 1997. ''Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level.'' Columbia University Press, New York, 631 pp. ]
Systematics
* Subfamily †Hemicyoninae
(Frick, 1926)
** Tribe †
Cephalogalini (de Bonis, 2013)
*** †''
Adelpharctos''
(de Bonis, 1971)
**** †''Adelpharctos ginsburgi''
(de Bonis, 2011)
**** †''Adelpharctos mirus''
(de Bonis, 1971)
*** †''
Cyonarctos''
(de Bonis, 2013)
**** †''Cyonarctos dessei''
(de Bonis, 2013)
*** †''
Phoberogale
''Phoberogale'' is an extinct genus of hemicyonine bear, which lived during the Early Miocene, found in France, California, and Pakistan, from .
References
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7186602
Hemicyonids
Oligocene carnivorans
Miocene carni ...
''
(Ginsburg & Morales, 1995)
**** †''Phoberogale minor''
(Filhol, 1877)
**** †''Phoberogale bonali''
(Helbing, 1928)
**** †''Phoberogale depereti''
(Viret, 1929)
**** †''Phoberogale gracile''
(Pomel, 1847)
*** †''
Filholictis''
(de Bonis, 2013)
**** †''Filholictis filholi''
(Munier-Chalmas, 1877)
*** †''
Cephalogale
''Cephalogale'' is an extinct genus of hemicyonine bear which lived in the Oligocene and Early Miocene epochs in North America and Europe. It lived from around 28.4—20.0 Mya. Before it was reconsidered to be close to the ancestry of hemicyon ...
''
(Jourdan, 1862)
**** †''Cephalogale shareri''
(Wang, et al., 2009)
**** †''Cephalogale gergoviensis''
(Viret, 1929)
**** †''Cephalogale ginesticus''
(Kuss, 1962)
**** †''Cephalogale geoffroyi''
(Jourdan, 1862)
** Tribe †
Phoberocyonini (Ginsburg & Morales, 1995)
*** †''
Plithocyon
''Plithocyon'' is an extinct genus of hemicyonine bear of the Miocene epoch, endemic to North America and Europe. It lived from ~15.97—11.61 Ma, existing for approximately .
Fossil distribution
Sites and age of some specimens:
*Hemicyon ...
''
(Ginsburg, 1955)
**** †''Plithocyon armagnacensis''
(Ginsburg, 1955)
**** †''Plithocyon statzlingii''
(Frick, 1926)
**** †''Plithocyon bruneti''
(Ginsburg, 1980)
**** †''Plithocyon barstowensis''
(Frick, 1926)
**** †''Plithocyon ursinus''
(Cope, 1875)
*** †''
Phoberocyon
''Phoberocyon'' is a large extinct genus of hemicyonine bear, found primarily in North America during the Miocene. It lived from 28.4 to 13.7 mya, existing for approximately . One species, ''P. hispanicus'', is known from Miocene Spain.
Sp ...
''
(Ginsburg, 1955)
**** †''Phoberocyon hispanicus''
(Ginsburg & Morales, 1998)
**** †''Phoberocyon dehmi''
(Ginsburg, 1955)
**** †''Phoberocyon huerzeleri''
(Ginsburg, 1955)
**** †''Phoberocyon aurelianensis''
(Mayet, 1908)
**** †''Phoberocyon youngi''
(Xiang et al., 1986)
**** †''Phoberocyon johnhenryi''
(White, 1947)
** Tribe †
Hemicyonini (Frick, 1926)
*** †''
Zaragocyon
''Zaragocyon'' is an extinct monospecific
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific t ...
''
(Ginsburg & Morales, 1995)
**** †''Zaragocyon daamsi''
(Ginsburg & Morales, 1995)
*** †''
Dinocyon
''Dinocyon'' is an extinct genus of hemicyonine bear of the Miocene epoch, endemic to Europe. It lived from around 20.3–5.3 Ma, existing for approximately .
Fossil distribution
*Poysbrunn site, Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich ...
''
(Jourdan, 1861)
**** †''Dinocyon aurelianensis''
(Frick, 1926)
**** †''Dinocyon sansaniensis''
(Frick, 1926)
**** †''Dinocyon thenardi''
(Jourdan, 1861)
*** †''
Hemicyon
''Hemicyon'', also known as the "dog-bear" (literally "half dog", from Greek (half) + (dog)), is an extinct genus of hemicyonine bear, which probably originated in Eurasia but was found in Europe, Asia and North America during the Miocene ...
''
(Lartet, 1851)
**** †''Hemicyon barbouri''
(Colbert, 1941)
**** †''Hemicyon teilhardi''
(Colbert, 1939)
**** †''Hemicyon grivensis''
(Frick, 1926)
**** †''Hemicyon minor''
(Dépéret, 1887)
**** †''Hemicyon sansaniensis''
(Lartet, 1851)
References
{{Ursidae extinct nav
Oligocene carnivorans
Miocene carnivorans
Chattian first appearances
Messinian extinctions
Mammal subfamilies