''Borophagus pugnator'' is an extinct

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of the

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 ...

Borophagus ''Borophagus'' ("gluttonous eater") is an extinct genus of the subfamily Borophaginae, a group of canids endemic to North America from the Middle Miocene epoch through the Early Pleistocene epoch 12—1.8 Annum, Mya. Evolution ''Borophagus'', ...

'' 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 early

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 late

epoch from 10.3 to 9.4 Ma. ''Borophagus pugnator'' existed for approximately .

Overview

''Borophagus'', like other Borophaginae, 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 ''Canis'' genera 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 '' Canis 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. ''Borophagus pugnator'' possibly led a hyena-like lifestyle scavenging carcasses of recently dead animals.

Taxonomy

Typical features of this genus are a bulging forehead and powerful jaws; it was 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 ...

. 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

of the Old World. 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.

Recombination

''Borophagus pugnator'' was originally named ''Porthocyon pugnator'' by Cook 1932. It was recombined by Matthew as ''Aelurodon pugnator'' in 1924 followed by Matthew and Stirton in 1830. It was then recombined as ''Osteoborus pugnator'' by Stirton and VanderHoof in 1933 and others until recombined as ''Borophagus pugnator'' by VanderHoof (1931) and X. Wang et al. in 1999.

Fossil distribution

Specimens were found at only two sites. Near Withlacoochee River,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and coastal

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

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.

Overview

Taxonomy

Recombination

Fossil distribution

References

Further reading