''Corumictis'' is an extinct genus of

mustelid The Mustelidae (; from Latin , weasel) are a diverse family of carnivoran mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, polecats, martens, grisons, and wolverines. Otherwise known as mustelids (), they form the largest family in the suborde ...

from the Early

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

(

Arikareean The Arikareean 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 30,600,000 to 20,800,000 years BP, a period of . It is usuall ...

) of

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 ...

, specifically

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. It contains a single species ''Corumictis wolsani'', which is notable for being the oldest currently known mustelid.

Name

The generic name is derived from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

words ''Corum'' (northwest) and ''ictis'' (weasel). The specific name honors

paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

Mieczysław Wolsan, who extensively studied the evolutionary history of fossil musteloids.

Discovery

The skull of ''Corumictis'' was discovered around 2005 at the

John Day Formation The John Day Formation is a series of rock strata exposed in the Picture Gorge district of the John Day River basin and elsewhere in north-central Oregon in the United States. The Picture Gorge exposure lies east of the Blue Mountains (Oregon), ...

in northern Oregon, which dates to between 28.8 million and 25.9 million years ago. The skull was originally believed to have belonged to an ancient feline, but was re-examined by palaeontologist Ryan Paterson of

Carlton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, who concluded that it was a mustelid instead.

Description

''Corumictis'' was very small, about the size of the living

least weasel The least weasel (''Mustela nivalis''), little weasel, common weasel, or simply weasel is the smallest member of the genus ''Mustela,'' Family (biology), family Mustelidae and Order (biology), order Carnivora. It is native to Eurasia, North Ame ...

; its skull measured just long. It is considered closely allied with ''

Plesictis ''Plesictis'' is an extinct prehistoric genus of mustelid (originally described as a procyonid) endemic to Europe during the Oligocene and Miocene 33.9—20.0 Ma existing for approximately . ''Plesictis'' was a long animal, resembling a wease ...

'' and certain Oligobunine mustelids. ''Corumictis'' has very sharp teeth, and compared to modern mustelids it lacks an alisphenoid canal and a postprotocrista on its first molars. It retains a dorsally deep suprameatal fossa, a feature occasionally considered unique to procyonids.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q108146761 Prehistoric mustelids Oligocene caniforms Prehistoric mammals of North America Oligocene mammals of North America Monotypic prehistoric carnivoran genera