''Protictitherium'' (
gr. first striking beast) 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 ...
genus of
hyaena that lived across
Europe and
Asia during the Middle and Late
Miocene, it is often considered to be the first hyaena since it contains some of the oldest fossils of the family.
They were especially prolific in Turkey, where every species has been registered.
Description
''Protictitherium'' was akin to
civets both in size, being around 50 cm (19 inches) tall at their shoulder; and in weight, with calculations suggesting something around 4-8 kg (8-18 lb), with differences between species.
It has been suggested that ''Protictitherium'' was a partly arboreal predator, due to their semi-retractable claws, perhaps to avoid larger predators .
While they possessed somewhat large molars and premolars, their bite wasn't remarkably strong.
Species
There are generally three recognized species in the genus ''Protictitherium'', though there are some that suggest that species in the genus ''
Tungurictis'' should be considered a part of ''Protictitherium''.
''Protictitherium crassum''
The
type
Type may refer to:
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* TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file.
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and largest species, it was originally recovered by
Charles Depéret in 1892 as a member of the genus ''
Herpestes'' (''Herpestes crassus'')
and it wouldn't be until 1938 that Kretzoi understood it as a new genus, erecting ''Protictitherium''.
locomotive analysis of "P. crassum" suggest that, due to the proportions of its
humerus
The humerus (; ) is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. It connects the scapula and the two bones of the lower arm, the radius and ulna, and consists of three sections. The humeral upper extremity consists of a roun ...
,
femur,
pelvis
The pelvis (plural pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of the trunk, between the abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also called bony pelvis, or pelvic skeleton).
The ...
, and
scapula, it wasn't adapted to an arboreal lifestyle, rather to a cursorial locomotion in open woodlands. This species existed from 17 to 5 million years ago through Europe and Asia. Despite having existed for over a million years it remained fairly unchanged; specimens separated by large stretches of time possess slightly different proportions of their first molar.
Five species have been synonymized to ''P. crassum'': ''P. aegeum, P. csakvarense, P. gaillardi, P. llopisi, P. thesalonikensis'', and ''P. sumegense''.
Its specific name, ''crassum'', means thick or robust in
Latin.
''Protictitherium cingulatum''
Originally described in 1976 by Schmidt-Kittler, it is neither the biggest nor smallest species in the genus. ''P. cingulatum'' possesses somewhat primitive characteristics in its mandible, like a higher
protoconid in relation to its
paraconid on its first molar. Its holotype hails from the
Yeni Eskihisar formation, from the late Miocene of Turkey, where it coexisted with ''P. crassum'' for at least a million years, implying some manner of
niche partitioning where ''P. cingulatum'' opted for an arboreal lifestyle. Its specific name, ''cingulatum'', means cingulate in
latin, in reference to its highly developed dental cingulum.
''Protictitherium intermedium''
The second species described by Schmidt-Kittler in 1976, it is known from localities in Çandir and Paçalar of Turkey's Middle Miocene. It possesses the typical mandibular characters of ''Protictitherium'' and is characterized by its further developed
talonid in its first molar and a larger second molar. It seems to represent the ancestral condition of the genus, therefore it's often recovered as a common ancestor of the other species, hence its specific name ''intermedium'', intermediate in Latin.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q142046
Prehistoric hyenas
Miocene feliforms
Miocene mammals of Europe
Pliocene carnivorans
Pliocene mammals of Europe
Prehistoric carnivoran genera