Oxyaena

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Oxyaena
Oxyaena lupina.jpg

Oxyaena

Temporal occurrence
Upper Paleocene to Lower Eocene
Locations
  • North America
  • Europe
Systematics
Mammals (mammalia)
Higher mammals (Eutheria)
Laurasiatheria
Oxyaenodonta
Oxyaenidae
Oxyaena
Scientific name
Oxyaena
Cope , 1874

Oxyaena is an extinct genus of the order Oxyaenodonta thatlivedin North America and Europe from the late Paleocene to the early Eocene . The genus got its name in 1874 from the American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope .

morphology

Oxyaena had a physique that resembled that of a house cat , although the genus was not particularly closely related to the ancestors of today's cats , but only occupied a similar ecological niche . Oxyaena had a pliable, elongated body and short limbs with five toes. In contrast to real cats, however , Oxyaena was a sole walker , so stepped on with the entire surface of the foot. The skull was wide and low (20 centimeters long), while the body length, including the tail, was around 1.40 meters. The animal was 40 centimeters high and weighed about 20 kilograms. Oxyaena had a massive lower jaw but most likely relied almost entirely on its eyes and hearing when hunting, much like cats and martens . It is believed that Oxyaena could also climb trees in search of prey.

Systematics

External system

For a long time, Oxyaena belonged to the order of the so-called original predators (Creodonta), which were viewed as only very broadly related to today's predators . This extinct order of carnivores originally included two families, the Hyaenodontidae and the Oxyaenidae . The Oxyaenidae appeared in North America towards the end of the Paleocene, from Europe they are only known from the early Eocene. The family has only been recorded for a short geological period in Europe; in North America it became extinct in the middle of the Eocene.

species

There are currently 7 species in the genus Oxyaena , including the European species Oxyaena woutersi .

  • Oxyaena lupina Cope, 1874
  • Oxyaena forcipata Cope, 1874
  • Oxyaena gulo Matthew, 1915
  • Oxyaena pardalis Matthew, 1915
  • Oxyaena intermedia Denison, 1938
  • Oxyaena simpsoni Van Valen, 1966
  • Oxyaena woutersi (Lange-Badré & Godinot, 1982)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Floréal Solé, Emmanuel Gheerbrant & Marc Godinot: New data on the Oxyaenidae from the Early Eocene of Europe; biostratigraphic, paleobiogeographic and paleoecologic implications. Palaeontologia Electronica, Vol. 14, Issue 2, Article 13A, pp. 1-41, 2011 PDF

literature

  • Edward Drinker Cope : Report upon vertebrate fossils discovered in New Mexico, with descriptions of new species. Chief of Engineers Annual Report, Appendix, pp. 589–606, US Government Printing Office, Washington 1874 (first description)
  • Jacob Lawson Wortmann: Restoration of Oxyaena Lupina Cope, with Descriptions of Certain New Species of Eocene Creodonts. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 12, Article 7, pp. 139-150, New York 1899 PDF

Web links

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