Borophagus
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Borophagus'' ("gluttonous eater") is an extinct
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of the
subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...
Borophaginae The extinct Borophaginae form one of three subfamilies found within the canid family. The other two canid subfamilies are the extinct Hesperocyoninae and extant Caninae. Borophaginae, called "bone-crushing dogs", were endemic to North America d ...
, a group of
canids Canidae (; from Latin, ''canis'', "dog") is a biological family of caniform carnivorans, constituting a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (). The family includes three subfamilies: the Caninae, and the extinct Borophaginae ...
endemic to
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
from the Middle
Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), 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 mea ...
epoch through the Early
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
epoch 12—1.8 Mya.


Evolution

''Borophagus'', like other borophagines, are loosely known as "bone-crushing" or "
hyena Hyenas or hyaenas ( ; from Ancient Greek , ) are feliform carnivoran mammals belonging to the family Hyaenidae (). With just four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the order Carnivora and one of the sma ...
-like" dogs. Though not the most massive borophagine by size or weight, it had a more highly evolved capacity to crunch bone than earlier, larger genera such as ''
Epicyon ''Epicyon'' ("more than a dog") is a large, extinct, canid genus of the subfamily Borophaginae ("bone-crushing dogs"), native to North America. ''Epicyon'' existed for about from the early Clarendonian age of the Late Miocene to the late Hemphil ...
'', which seems to be an evolutionary trend of the group (Turner, 2004). During the Pliocene epoch, ''Borophagus'' began being displaced by other ''Canid'' species such as ''
Canis edwardii ''Canis edwardii'', also known as Edward's wolf, is an extinct species of wolf in the genus ''Canis'' which was endemic to North America three million years ago from the Late Blancan stage of the Pliocene epoch and was extinct by the end of the I ...
'' and later by '' Aenocyon dirus''. Early species of ''Borophagus'' were placed in the genus ''Osteoborus'' until recently, but the
genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...
are now considered synonyms.


Description

Typical features of this genus are a bulging forehead and powerful jaws; ''Borophagus'' has been considered to be probably a
scavenger Scavengers are animals that consume Corpse decomposition, dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a he ...
by paleontologists in the past. Its crushing
premolar The premolars, also called premolar Tooth (human), teeth, or bicuspids, are transitional teeth located between the Canine tooth, canine and Molar (tooth), molar teeth. In humans, there are two premolars per dental terminology#Quadrant, quadrant in ...
teeth and strong jaw muscles would have been used to crack open bone, much like the
hyena Hyenas or hyaenas ( ; from Ancient Greek , ) are feliform carnivoran mammals belonging to the family Hyaenidae (). With just four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the order Carnivora and one of the sma ...
of the Old World. However, ''Borophagus'' fossils are so abundant and geographically widespread that some paleontologists now argue that ''Borophagus'' must have been both the dominant carnivore of its time, and thus an active predator because carrion feeding alone could not have sustained such a large population.Wang, Xiaoming; and Tedford, Richard H. Dogs: Their Fossil Relatives and Evolutionary History. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. pp112-3 They note that not all carnivores with bone-cracking ability are scavengers, such as the modern spotted hyena; instead, they interpret the bone-cracking ability as an adaptation to social hunting where complete utilization of a carcass was favored. Coprolites from ''Borophagus'' further vindicate its bone-crushing abilities, while simultaneously indicating it occupied a niche no longer seen in the present-day ecosystems of North America. The discovery of these coprolites also indicates that ''Borophagus'' may have been a social pack-hunter. The adult animal is estimated to have been about 80 cm in length, similar to a
coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...
, although it was much more powerfully built.


Species

*''
Borophagus diversidens ''Borophagus diversidens'' ("devouring glutton") is an extinct species of the genus ''Borophagus'' of the subfamily Borophaginae, a group of canids endemic to North America during the Early Pleistocene from the 2.58—1.8 Ma. Overview ''Boropha ...
'' existed for (synonymous with ''Felis hillianus'', ''Hyaenognathus matthewi'', ''Hyaenognathus pachyodon'', ''Hyaenognathus solus'', ''Porthocyon dubius'') *''
Borophagus dudleyi ''Borophagus dudleyi'' ("devouring glutton") is an extinct species of the genus ''Borophagus'' of the subfamily ''Borophaginae'', a group of canids endemic to North America from the late Hemphillian of the Miocene epoch (5.3 Mya) through the Pli ...
'' existed for *''
Borophagus hilli ''Borophagus hilli'' is an extinct species of the genus ''Borophagus'' of the subfamily Borophaginae, a group of canids endemic to North America from the Late Miocene until the Pliocene. Overview ''Borophagus hilli'' was named by C. S. Johnston ...
'' existed for (synonymous with ''Osteoborus crassapineatus'', ''Osteoborus progressus'') *''
Borophagus littoralis ''Borophagus littoralis'' ("coastal glutton") is an extinct species of the genus ''Borophagus'' of the subfamily ''Borophaginae'', a group of canids endemic to North America from the Late Miocene from 11.6 to 9.4 Mya. ''Borophagus littoralis'' ...
'' existed for (syn. ''Osteoborus diabloensis'') *''
Borophagus orc ''Borophagus orc'' is an extinct species of the genus ''Borophagus'' of the subfamily Borophaginae, a group of canids endemic to North America from the 5.3 to 4.9 Mya. ''Borophagus orc'' existed for approximately . Overview ''Borophagus'', lik ...
'' existed for *''
Borophagus parvus ''Borophagus parvus'' is an extinct species of the genus ''Borophagus'', of the subfamily Borophaginae, a group of canids endemic to North America and lived during the Hemphillian of the Miocene epoch through the Pliocene epoch 10.3—4.9 Ma, e ...
'' existed for *''
Borophagus pugnator ''Borophagus pugnator'' is an extinct species of the genus ''Borophagus'' of the subfamily Borophaginae, a group of canids endemic to North America from the early Miocene epoch through the late Miocene epoch from 10.3 to 9.4 Ma. ''Borophagus pu ...
'' existed for (synonymous with ''Osteoborus galushai'') *''
Borophagus secundus ''Borophagus secundus'' ("devouring glutton") is an extinct species of the genus ''Borophagus'' of the subfamily Borophaginae, a group of canids endemic to North America during the Late Miocene to Early Pliocene from 9 to 5 Ma. ''Borophagus sec ...
'' existed for (synonymous with ''Hyaenognathus cyonoides'', ''Hyaenognathus direptor'', ''Osteoborus secundus'') Existence based on Figure 141 of Wang et al. (1999).


Paleoecology

In North America, in places such as
Coffee Ranch Coffee is a beverage Coffee brew, brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a Stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is ...
in Texas, ''Borophagus'' was contemporary with the bear ''
Agriotherium ''Agriotherium'' is an extinct genus of bears whose fossils are found in Miocene through Pleistocene-aged strata of North America, Eurasia, and Africa. The earliest species, ''A.'' ''aecuatorialis'' evolved during the early Late Miocene, around ...
'' as well as the feliform ''
Barbourofelis ''Barbourofelis'' is an extinct genus of large, predatory, from a subfamily of feliformia, feliform carnivoran mammals of known as Barbourofelidae, Barbourofelinae, part of the Nimravidae superfamily. ''Barbourofelis'', along with ''Albanosmilus' ...
'', the saber-toothed
machairodont Machairodontinae (from Ancient Greek μάχαιρα ''machaira,'' a type of Ancient Greek sword and ὀδόντος ''odontos'' meaning tooth) is an extinct subfamily of carnivoran mammals of the cat family Felidae, representing the earliest d ...
cat '' Amphimachairodus coloradensis'' and fellow canid ''Epicyon''. All of these animals were potential competitors that would have occasionally conflicted with ''Borophagus'' for food and territory, though it may also have readily scavenged their kills. Prey for ''Borophagus'' included herbivores like the camel ''
Aepycamelus ''Aepycamelus'' is an extinct genus of camelids that lived during the Miocene 20.6–4.9 million years ago, existing for about . Its name is derived from the Homeric Greek , "high and steep" and κάμηλος – "camel"; thus, "high camel"; ''a ...
'', the pronghorn antelope ''
Cosoryx ''Cosoryx'' is an extinct genus of antilocaprid that lived in the Miocene of Nevada. Fossils of this genus have also been found in the Santa Fe Group in New Mexico. ''Cosoryx'' has sometimes been considered synonymous with ''Merycodus '' ...
'', horses like ''
Neohipparion ''Neohipparion'' (Greek: "new" (neos), "pony" (hipparion)) is an extinction, extinct genus of equid, from the Neogene (Miocene to Pliocene) of North America and Central America. Fossils of this horse have been found in Texas, Florida, Kansas, ...
'' and ''
Nannippus ''Nannippus'' is an extinct genus of three-toed horse endemic to North America during the Miocene through Pleistocene, about 13.3—1.8 million years ago (Mya), living around 11.5 million years. This ancient species of three-toed horse grew up to ...
'', the ancient peccary '' Prosthennops'' and even rhinoceroses like the hippo-like ''
Teleoceras ''Teleoceras'' (Greek: "perfect" (teleos), "horn" (keratos)) is an extinct genus of rhinocerotid. It lived in North America during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs during the Hemingfordian to the end of Hemphillian from around 17.5 to 4.9 million ...
'', all of which could provide a suitable meal through hunting or scavenging.


References

*Alan Turner, "National Geographic: Prehistoric Mammals" (Washington, D.C.: Firecrest Books Ltd., 2004), pp. 112–114. *Xiaoming Wang
"The Origin and Evolution of the Dog Family"
Accessed 1/30/06.


Further reading



*Russell Hunt, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110926205607/http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~rhunt/publications.htm "Ecological Polarities Of the North American Family Canidae: A New Approach to Understanding Forty Million Years of Canid Evolution" (Accessed 1/30/06)].
Wang et al., "Phylogenetic Systematics of the Borophaginae (Carnivora:Canidae)." ''Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History'', No. 243, Nov. 17 1999. (PDF) (Accessed 4/11/06)
*Xiaoming Wang, Richard H. Tedford, Mauricio Antón, ''Dogs: Their Fossil Relatives and Evolutionary History'', New York : Columbia University Press, 2008; {{Taxonbar, from=Q137418 Borophagines Miocene canids Pliocene carnivorans Neogene mammals of North America Prehistoric carnivoran genera Fossil taxa described in 1892 Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope