Cynarctoides

Cynarctoides
Cynarctoides
Temporal range: Oligocene–Middle Miocene
Cynarctoides lemur fossil, University of California Museum of Paleontology.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Subfamily: †Borophaginae
Tribe: †Phlaocyonini
Genus: Cynarctoides
McGrew, 1938
Type species
†Cynarctoides
Species[1]
  • †C. acridens
  • †C. emryi
  • †C. gawnae
  • †C. harlowi
  • †C. lemur
  • †C. luskensis
  • †C. roli
Range of Cynarctoides based on fossil record

Cynarctoides is an extinct genus of terrestrial canine of the family Borophaginae and tribe Phlaocyonini which inhabited most of North America during the Whitneyan stage of the Early Oligocene to the Barstovian stage of the Middle Miocene 33.3—13.6 Mya existing approximately 19.7 million years.

Contents

Origin

Cynarctoides is derived from the Nothocyon and gave rise to Borophaginae, a short-face, heavy-jawed canine usually massive in size. Cynarctoides shared part of its period of time with a variety of bear dogs like Aelurodontina, Tomarctus and the giant mustelid genus of bone-crushing canidae.

Taxonomy

Cynarctoides was named by P. O. McGrew in 1938 and R. L. Carroll in 1988 and assigned to the family Canidae. Xiaoming Wang later placed it in the Borophaginae genus of Phlaocyonini.

Morphology

Fossil specimens of two individuals' body mass were examined by Legendre and Roth.[2]

  • Specimen 1 was estimated at 1.28 kg (2.8 lb).
  • Specimen 2 was estimated at 1.21 kg (2.7 lb).

Species

Species within Cynarctoides are:

Fossil distribution

Sites representing each species of Cynarctoides with age of find:

References

  1. ^ Wang, Xiaoming; Richard Tedford, Beryl Taylor (1999-11-17). "Phylogenetic systematics of the Borophaginae". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 243. http://www.nhm.org/expeditions/rrc/wang/documents/Wangetal1999borophaginemonographpart1.pdf. Retrieved 2007-07-08. 
  2. ^ S. Legendre and C. Roth. 1988. Correlation of carnassial tooth size and body weight in recent carnivores (Mammalia). Historical Biology
  • Martin, L.D. 1989. Fossil history of the terrestrial carnivora. Pages 536 - 568 in J.L. Gittleman, editor. Carnivore Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution, Vol. 1. Comstock Publishing Associates: Ithaca.
  • Tedford, R.H. 1978. History of dogs and cats: A view from the fossil record. Pages 1 - 10 in Nutrition and Management of Dogs and Cats. Ralston Purina Co.: St. Louis.
  • - Bio One Data Base - Cynarctoides
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