Martinogale

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Martinogale
Temporal occurrence
middle Miocene to early Pliocene
9.3 to 4.9 million years
Locations
Systematics
Laurasiatheria
Predators (Carnivora)
Canine (Caniformia)
Marten relatives (Musteloidea)
Skunks (Mephitidae)
Martinogale
Scientific name
Martinogale
Hall , 1930

Martinogale is an extinct genus of Skunks that has so far been described in three species from the Miocene and early Pliocene of North America .

features

The genus Martinogale has so far been described exclusively on the basis of skull and jaw fragments, all generic features relate accordingly to the dentition compared to other genera of the Skunks, especially the genus Buisnictis, which is also only described in fossil form . Compared to this, the jaw of Martinogale is smaller and differs from it in the structure of the molars and the smaller distance between the premolar teeth . Compared to the more modern genera, the recent genera Spilogale , Mephitis and Conepatus as well as the fossil genera Brachyprotoma and Osmotherium , Martinogale has, in addition to differences in the structure of the premolar teeth, a very narrow postorbital region, a slightly enlarged mastoid sinus and differences in the structure of the bulla tympanica .

Systematics

The type species of the genus is the species Martinogale alveodens described by Hall in 1930 . Due to the then assumed taxonomic position of the Skunks within the marten , Martinogale was described together with two other genera as a new marten genus under the title Three new genera of Mustelidae from the later Tertiary of North America in the Journal of Mammalogy . The second species of the genus was Martinogale chisoensis in 2003 and in 2005, Martinogale faulli was the last known species to be described. Overall, the genus currently consists of three fossil species:

Within the New World Skunks (Mephitini), i.e. the species of Skunks living on the American continent, the genus Martinogale is considered to be the oldest genus. According to the phylogenetic analysis of the genus, all (recent) American Skunks living today have developed from the line of ancestors from which the three Martinogale species originate. However, since these represent side branches of the lineage and not a common taxon , martinogale can be considered paraphyletic .

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b E.R. Hall: Three new genera of Mustelidae from the later Tertiary of North America. In: Journal of Mammalogy. 11, 1930, pp. 146-155.
  2. ↑ a b Xiaoming Wang, David P. Whistler, Gary T. Takeuchi: A new basal skunk Martinogale (Carnivora, Mephitinae) from late miocene Dove Spring Formation, California, and origin of New World Mephitines. In: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 25 (4), 2005, pp. 936-949. (Abstract)