Temnocyonines

Taxobox
name = "Temnocyonines"
fossil_range = Early Oligocene
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
ordo = Carnivora
familia = Amphicyonidae
subfamily = Temnocyoninae
genus = "Temnocyon"
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision =
* "T. percussor"
* "T. venator"

"Temnocyonines" are an extinct group of North American carnivorous mammals that lived during the Mid-Oligocene to Early Miocene approximately 29.5 to 18 million years ago. They were similar in morphology to both bears and dogs (see: Amphicyonids - Bear-Dog).

The first temnocyonine amphicyonids are recorded in North America at Logan Butte in the John Day beds of Oregon 29–29.5 Ma., in the Sharps Formation of the Wounded Knee area, South Dakota 28–29.5 Ma, and in the Gering Formation at Wildcat Ridge, Nebraska 28.3 Ma. These early temnocyonines attained the size of coyotes or small wolves (15–30 kg) are identified by a uniquely specialized dentition. The last documented occurrences of temnocyonines are found in sediments in northwest Nebraska and southeastern Wyoming (Hunt, 2004).

References

* Hunt, Robert M, Jr. (2004) "Global Climate and the Evolution of Large Mammalian Carnivores during the Later Cenozoic in North America" in Cenozoic Carnivores and Global Climate by Robert M. Hunt, Jr. [http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/453/8/B285a11.pdf]