Subparictidae
Subparictidae is an extinct family of early Paleogene arctoid carnivorans endemic to North America that closely related to bears. They were small, raccoon-like mammals that lived from the Eocene to the early Miocene. This family includes a handful of genera such as '' Subparictis'', ''Parictis'', ''Nothocyon'', and '' Eoarctos''. Characteristics Unlike other early caniforms, subparictids had simple molars and surrounding or at least partial cingulums. Systematics Subparictidae was originally described in 1996 to contain the genera ''Subparictis'', ''Nothocyon'', and ''Parictis''. At the time, it was suggested to be a sister-family to Ursidae. Other authors have placed ''Parictis'' and ''Subparictis'' in the Amphicynodontidae. A fourth genus, ''Eoarctos'', was described in 2023 and the paper supports a sister grouping of subparictids and ursids. Below is the phylogeny recovered by Wang et al. (2023): Paleobiology The subparictids were endemic to North America. Fossils have be ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Subparictis
''Subparictis'' is an extinct genus of carnivoran mammals in the family Subparictidae that inhabited North America. Taxonomy & evolution ''Subparictis'' was originally described as a subgenus of ''Parictis'' for ''Parictis (Subparictis) gilpini'' in 1972. It also included three other species: ''S. dakotensis'', which had first been described in 1936; ''S. parvus'', which was first described in 1967; and ''S. montanus'', which was described in the same 1972 paper that named the subgenus. The genus ''Parictis'' was revised, and ''Subparictis'' elevated to a full genus, in an extensive re-description in 1996. It is assigned to the early arctoid family Subparictidae Subparictidae is an extinct family of early Paleogene arctoid carnivorans endemic to North America that closely related to bears. They were small, raccoon-like mammals that lived from the Eocene to the early Miocene. This family includes a hand ... as of 2023. References Subparictidae Prehistoric carnivoran g ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nothocyon
''Nothocyon'' ("spurious dog") is an extinct genus of carnivoran in the family Subparictidae which inhabited North America during the late Oligocene. At one time, many species of the dog family Canidae were placed in ''Nothocyon'', but new fossils showed that the type species of ''Nothocyon'', ''N. geismarianus'', is more closely related to bears. The other species have been reassigned to other genera such as ''Cormocyon''. Taxonomy & Evolution The species ''Canis geismarianus'' was originally described by Edward Drinker Cope in 1878, based on a jaw fragment with a single m1 that came from the John Day Formation in Oregon. The specific epithet ''geismarianus'' was given in honor of the naturalist Jacob Geismar. He assigned further material to the species and reassigned it to the genus '' Galecynus'' in 1881, and described yet more material in 1883, which became the focus in studies on the species. In 1884, Cope re-illustrated most of the material assigned to ''N. geismarianus'' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Eoarctos
''Eoarctos'' is an extinct genus of arctoid carnivorans, known from the latest Eocene to early Oligocene of North Dakota and Nebraska. It is known from several remains, the most notable of which is the almost perfectly preserved skeleton of a large male. It was comparable in build and size to a fisher or small raccoon, with an estimated body mass of 4.3 kg, and possessed a variety of features that indicate a mix of terrestrial and scansorial locomotion. Its most notable feature is its unique dentition, with its massive premolars and hypocarnivorous molars, as well as its robust mandible, indicating that it consumed hard-shelled prey, possibly making it the oldest molluscivorous carnivoran known. Discovery and etymology Fossils belonging to ''Eoarctos'' were first discovered in the 1940s, when its unique jaws were found at the Fitterer Ranch fossil site in North Dakota, but not described until decades afterward, although they were occasionally referred to the species '' Su ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chadronian
The Chadronian age within the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology is the North American faunal stage typically set from 38,000,000 to 33,900,000 years BP, a period of . It is usually considered to fall within the Eocene epoch. The Chadronian is preceded by the Duchesnean and followed by the Orellan NALMA stages. The Chadronian can be further divided into the substages of: *Late/Upper Chadronian (shares upper boundary). Lower boundary source of the base of the Priabonian (approximate) *Middle Chadronian. Lower boundary source and base of the Priabonian (approximate). Upper boundary source of the base of the Orellan (approximate). *Early/Lower Chadronian (shares lower boundary). Upper boundary source: base of Orellan (approximate). Geological time The Chadronian maintains a period of time within the Priabonian through Rupelian of the Late Eocene through Early Oligocene in the geologic time scale The geologic time scale, or geological time scale, (GTS) is a representati ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Bears are found on the continents of North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Common characteristics of modern bears include large bodies with stocky legs, long snouts, small rounded ears, shaggy hair, plantigrade paws with five nonretractile claws, and short tails. While the polar bear is mostly carnivorous, and the giant panda feeds almost entirely on bamboo, the remaining six species are omnivorous with varied diets. With the exception of courting individuals and mothers with their young, bears are typically solitary animals. They may be diurnal or nocturnal and have an excellent sense of smell. Despite their heavy build and awkward gait, they are adept runners, climbe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Prehistoric Mammal Families
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of symbols, marks, and images appears very early among humans, but the earliest known writing systems appeared 5000 years ago. It took thousands of years for writing systems to be widely adopted, with writing spreading to almost all cultures by the 19th century. The end of prehistory therefore came at very different times in different places, and the term is less often used in discussing societies where prehistory ended relatively recently. In the early Bronze Age, Sumer in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley Civilisation, and ancient Egypt were the first civilizations to develop their own scripts and to keep historical records, with their neighbors following. Most other civilizations reached the end of prehistory during the following Iron Age. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Guloninae
Guloninae is a subfamily of the mammal family Mustelidae distributed across Eurasia and the Americas. It includes martens and the fisher, tayra and wolverine. These genera were formerly included within a paraphyletic definition of the mustelid subfamily Mustelinae. Most gulonine species are arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose num ... to a degree. Some of the fashion furs come from this subfamily, e.g. sable, marten. Species Extant species Extinct genera *†'' Aragonictis'' Valenciano et al., 2022 - Middle Miocene Europe ** ''A. araid'' *†'' Circamustela'' Petter, 1967 - Middle to Late Miocene Europe ** ''C. dechaseauxi'' ** ''C. peignei'' ** ''C.? laevidens'' *†'' Dehmictis'' Ginsburg and Morales, 1992 - Early Miocene Europe *†'' Eiricitis'' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Procyonidae
Procyonidae is a New World family of the order Carnivora. It comprises the raccoons, ringtails, cacomistles, coatis, kinkajous, olingos, and olinguitos. Procyonids inhabit a wide range of environments and are generally omnivorous. Characteristics Procyonids are relatively small animals, with generally slender bodies and long tails, though the common raccoon tends to be bulky. Because of their general build, the Procyonidae are often popularly viewed as smaller cousins of the bear family. This is apparent in their German names: a raccoon is called a ''Waschbär'' (washing bear, as it "washes" its food before eating), a coati is a ''Nasenbär'' (nose-bear), while a kinkajou is a ''Honigbär'' (honey-bear). Dutch follows suit, calling the animals ''wasbeer'', ''neusbeer'' and ''rolstaartbeer'' respectively. However, it is now believed that procyonids are more closely related to mustelids than to bears. Procyonids share common morphological characteristics including a shortened ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Durophagy
Durophagy is the eating behavior of animals that consume hard-shelled or exoskeleton bearing organisms, such as corals, shelled mollusks, or crabs. It is mostly used to describe fish, but is also used when describing reptiles, including fossil turtles, placodonts and invertebrates, as well as "bone-crushing" mammalian carnivores such as hyenas. Durophagy requires special adaptions, such as blunt, strong teeth and a heavy jaw. Bite force is necessary to overcome the physical constraints of consuming more durable prey and gain a competitive advantage over other organisms by gaining access to more diverse or exclusive food resources earlier in life. Those with greater bite forces require less time to consume certain prey items as a greater bite force can increase the net rate of energy intake when foraging and enhance fitness in durophagous species. In the order Carnivora there are two dietary categories of durophagy; bonecrackers and bamboo eaters. Bonecrackers are exemplified by h ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Canidae
Canidae (; from Latin, ''canis'', "dog") is a family (biology), biological family of dog-like carnivorans, colloquially referred to as dogs, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (). There are three subfamily, subfamilies found within the canid family, which are the extinct Borophaginae and Hesperocyoninae, and the extant Caninae. The Caninae are known as canines, and include Dog, domestic dogs, Wolf, wolves, Coyote, coyotes, foxes, jackals and other extant and extinct species. Canids are found on all continents except Antarctica, having arrived independently or accompanied Human, human beings over extended periods of time. Canids vary in size from the gray wolf to the fennec fox. The body forms of canids are similar, typically having long muzzles, upright ears, teeth adapted for cracking bones and slicing flesh, long legs, and bushy tails. They are mostly social animals, living together in family units or small groups and behaving cooperativ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Whitneyan
The Whitneyan North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 33,300,000 to 30,800,000 years BP, a period of . It is usually considered to fall within the Early Oligocene. The Whitneyan is preceded by the Orellan and followed by the Arikareean NALMA stages. The Whitneyan is interchangeable with the Rupelian The Rupelian is, in the geologic timescale, the older of two ages or the lower of two stages of the Oligocene Epoch/ Series. It spans the time between . It is preceded by the Priabonian Stage (part of the Eocene) and is followed by the Chattian ... age. References Oligocene life Oligocene animals of North America {{geochronology-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |