Borhyaenidae

Borhyaenidae
Fossil of Lycopsis longirostris in the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Temporal occurrence
Eocene to Miocene
54 to 6.8 million years
Locations
South America
Systematics
Amniotes (Amniota) Synapsids (Synapsida) Mammals (mammalia) Metatheria Sparassodonta Borhyaenidae
Scientific name
Borhyaenidae
Ameghino , 1884

The Borhyaenidae are a family of extinct marsupials . They came from the Eocene to the Miocene in South America and were initially not recognized as marsupials, but rather considered relatives of the Creodonts . The Borhyaenidae, favored by the lack of placental predators, had developed convergent to the Australian predator-like (Dasyuromorphia) and have a dog, bear or hyena-like appearance. Before the Huayquerium (9 to 6.8 million), they were the only medium and large predatory mammals in South America. With around two dozen genera, they reached the height of their diversity in the Miocene , but died out at the end of the period. When the first " higher " predators reached South America in the great American fauna exchange , the Borhyaenidae had already disappeared.

features

All Borhyaenids had relatively short legs and a small brain skull compared to placental predators. They were omnivores or carnivores. Smaller, about dog-sized Borhyaenids lived semi-arborially (partly on trees) the larger ones were exclusively ground dwellers. Prothylacynus was 80 cm long, Borhyaena was the size of a jaguar, and Proborhyaena was taller than a grizzly bear .

Internal system

• Family Borhyaenidae
  • Subfamily Hathliacyninae
    • Allqokirus
    • paten
    • Palaeocladosictis
    • Procladosictis
    • Pseudocladosictis
    • Sallacyon
    • Notogale
    • Cladosictis
    • Sipalocyon
    • Thylacodictis
    • Agustylus
    • Ictioborus
    • Amphithereutes
    • Perathereutes
    • Chasicostylus
    • Notictis
    • Notocynus
    • Borhyaenidium
  • Subfamily Proborhyaeninae
    • Armini heringia
    • Paraborhyaena
    • Proborhyaena
  • Subfamily Borhyaeninae
    • Nemolestes
    • Argyrolestes
    • Angelocabrerus
    • Pharsophorus
    • Borhyaena
    • Pseudoborhyaena
    • Acrocyon
    • Conodonictis
    • Eutemnodus
    • Parahyaenodon
  • Subfamily Prothylacyninae
    • Pseudothylacinus
    • Prothylacynus
    • Lycopsis
    • Stylocynus
    • Pseudolycopsis

literature

• Larry G. Marshall: Evolution of the Borhyaenidae, extinct South American predaceous marsupials. University of California Press, Berkeley CA et al. 1978, ISBN 0-520-09571-5 ( University of California Publications in Geological Sciences 117), at GoogleBooks .
• Willy Kükenthal (original), Max Beier, Johann-Gerhard Helmcke (ed.): Handbook of Zoology. Volume 8: Mammalia. 2nd part: Erich Thenius : Tribal history of the mammals. (Including the hominids). Walter de Gruyter & Co, Berlin 1969, ISSN  1861-4388 .

Web links

Commons : Borhyaenidae  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• The Paleobiology Database: Borhyaenidae