Dissacus

Dissacus
Dissacus
Temporal range: Early Paleocene–Early Eocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: †Mesonychia
Family: †Mesonychidae
Genus: †Dissacus
Cope, 1881[1]
Type species
†Dissacus navajovius
Species
  • †D. argenteus
  • †D. europaeus
  • †D. indigenus
  • †D. magushanensis
  • †D. navajovius
  • †D. praenuntius
  • †D. rotundus
  • †D. serior
  • †D. serratus
  • †D. willwoodensis
  • †D. zanabazari
  • †D. zengi

Dissacus is an extinct carnivorous jackal to coyote-sized mammal of the family Mesonychidae, endemic to Asia and North America during the Paleocene through Eocene epochs 65—50.3 mya, existing for approximately 14.7 million years.

The bear-sized Ankalagon is closely related to Dissacus, being regarded as a sister or daughter genus.

Dissacus had a Holarctic distribution but Dissacus europaeus was the only mesonychid in present-day Europe. The fossil record of this species is fragmentary; remains in Cernay, France, include a mandible, a complete radius, and fragments of a humerus. A morphological study of these bones suggests this animal was digitigrade and more cursorial than is usually assumed for the genus. [2]

Species

  • Genus Dissacus
    • Dissacus argenteus
    • Dissacus europaeus
    • Dissacus indigenus
    • Dissacus magushanensis
    • Dissacus navajovius
    • Dissacus praenuntius
    • Dissacus rotundus
    • Dissacus serior
    • Dissacus serratus
    • Dissacus willwoodensis
    • Dissacus zanabazari
    • Dissacus zengi


See also

  • Arctocyonidae, another family of Paleocene near-carnivorous mammals

References

  1. ^ PaleoBiology Database: Dissacus, basic info
  2. ^ Agusti, Jordi; Anton, Mauricio (2002). Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids: 65 Million Years of Mammalian Evolution in Europe. Columbia University Press. pp. 13, 14. ISBN 0231116403. 


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