Tomarctus
| Tomarctus Temporal range: early to middle Miocene
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| Tomarctus skull | |
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| Genus: | †Tomarctus Cope, 1873
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| †Tomarctus brevirostris | |
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Tomarctus ("cutting bear") is an extinct canid of the subfamily Borophaginae which inhabited most of North America during the late Early Miocene subepoch to the Early Barstovian age of the Middle Miocene subepoch (23—16 mya). Tomarctus existed for approximately 7.3 million years.
Tomarctus is derived from the Nothocyon and gave rise to Borophaginae, a short-face, heavy-jawed canine usually massive in size. This animal shared a period of time and ecology with a variety of other bear dogs like the giant mustelid genus of bone-crushing canidae, Cynarctoides. As the bear dogs and giant mustelids became extinct, Tomarctus further radiated to fill a line of dogs which filled the hyena-like fruit eating and bone-crushing niches.
Morphology
Two specimens were examined by Legendre and Roth for body mass. The first specimen was estimated to weigh 17.9 kg (39.4 lbs). The second specimen was estimated to weigh 16.4 kg (36.1 lbs).[2]
Species
Species within Tomarctus are Tomarctus brevirostris and Tomarctus hippophaga.
Sister genus
A sister genus, Aelurodontina, was originally named Aelurodon by Joseph Leidy in 1858. Leidy placed it within Canidae and J. A. Baskin in 1980 and R.L. Carroll in 1988. The genus was renamed Aelurodontina in 1999 by Xiaoming Wang.
References
- ^ Wang, Xiaoming (1999-11-17). "Phylogenetic systematics of the Borophaginae" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 243. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ 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 - Tomarctus
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