Amphicyon

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Amphicyon
Amphicyon ingens, in the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Amphicyon ingens , in the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Temporal occurrence
Early to Late Miocene
Locations
Systematics
Laurasiatheria
Predators (Carnivora)
Canine (Caniformia)
Amphicyonidae
Amphicyoninae
Amphicyon
Scientific name
Amphicyon
Lartet , 1836

Amphicyon ( Greek ἀμφί amphí "on both sides, around", κύων kýōn "dog") is an extinct genus of the Amphicyonidae . It occurred in the Miocene of North America, Eurasia and Africa.

Distribution area of Amphicyon

Amphicyon combined features of bears, such as broad paws, non-retractable claws, and features of cats, such as the long, flexible spine. The long tail also reminded of cats. The skull, however, was relatively long and stretched like a dog. Amphicyon was a formidable predator and, together with Ischyrocyon, represented the largest land predator in North America during the Middle and Late Miocene. The structure and signs of wear on the molars show that the animals fed on meat. The huge animals combined the morphological characteristics of a stalker with those of a hunter. As a result, they seem to have pursued their prey over longer distances, but less quickly than today's stalkers. Presumably, the prey was killed by bites in the chest and neck area.

The strong molars and the high crest , which mainly served as an upper starting point and abutment for the masticatory muscles , suggest that these predators were able to bite open large bones, similar to today's hyenas . Nevertheless, Amphicyon was probably not a pure scavenger. The physique suggests that the animals stalked and actively hunted, similar to today's big cats. The long tail served as a balancing organ in chases. One of the best-known species of the genus was Amphicyon giganteus from the early Miocene. The males could reach a weight of over 300 kg, females weighed around 160 kg. Amphicyon giganteus has also been identified from Arrisdrift in Namibia around 17 million years ago. In Europe, Amphicyon giganteus was replaced by the very successful species Amphicyon major in the Middle Miocene . With a body weight of 120 kg (females) to 220 kg (males), Amphicyon major was significantly smaller, but still reached the dimensions of today's lion. This species disappeared about 10 million years ago in the late Miocene. Some lesser-known species, such as Amphicyon grutmani (Germany, Austria) and Amphicyon pannonicus (Hungary) survived until the latest Miocene (Turolian). With a body weight of over 200 kg, they were similar in size and probably also active hunters.

Other species of the European Miocene were Amphicyon longiramus and Amphicyon castellanus .

literature

  • Jordi Augusti, Mauricio Antón: Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids. 65 Million Years of Mammalian Evolution in Europe. Columbia University Press, New York NY et al. 2002, ISBN 0-231-11640-3 .
  • Alan Turner, Mauricio Antón: Evolving Eden. An Illustrated Guide to the Evolution of the African Large Mammal Fauna. Columbia University Press, New York NY 2004, ISBN 0-231-11944-5 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Agusti, 2002 (p. 136)
  2. ↑ B. Sorkin: Ecomorphology of the giant bear-dogs Amphicyon and Ischyrocyon. Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology. Volume 18, Issue 4, 2006, Pages 375-388. doi : 10.1080 / 08912960600618073 .
  3. ↑ Agusti, 2002 (p. 99 ff.)
  4. ↑ Turner, Antón, 2004 (p. 108)
  5. ↑ Agusti, 2002 (p. 137 ff.)
  6. ↑ Agusti, 2002 (p. 173 ff.)
  7. ↑ Agusti, 2002 (p. 88 ff.)
  8. ↑ Agusti, 2002 (p. 159 ff.)

Web links

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