Lophocyonidae

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Lophocyonidae
Temporal range: Early Miocene–Late Miocene
Lophocyon-paraskevaidisi-maxilla-LGPUT-THB-12-and-mandible-LGPUT-THB-1-HOLOTYPE-Chios.png
Lophocyon paraskevaidisi
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Superfamily: Herpestoidea
Family: Lophocyonidae
Fejfar & Schmidt-Kittler, 1987
Genera

Lophocyonidae is an extinct family of feliform carnivorans from the Miocene of Europe. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Taxonomy

Classification

Lophocyonidae was previously a subfamily of Hyaenidae, Procyonidae, or Viverridae, but Morales et al. (2019) recognized it as a distinct family in its own right. Distinguishing features of lophocyonids include the molarization of the anterior premolars (P3 and p4), the lophodont adaptation of the molar dentition and the complex morphology of the incisors. [2]

Family Lophocyonidae
GenusSpeciesImage
Euboictis E. aliverensis
Izmirictis I. cani
Lophocyon
  • L. carpathicus
  • L. paraskevaidisi
Sivanasua
  • S. antiqua
  • S. moravica
  • S. viverroides

Phylogenetic tree

The phylogenetic relationships of Lophocyonidae are shown in the following cladogram: [2]

 Lophocyonidae 
  Izmirictis  

Izmirictis cani

  Euboictis  

Euboictis aliverensis

  Sivanasua  

Sivanasua moravica

Sivanasua antiqua

Sivanasua viverroides

  Lophocyon  

Lophocyon carpathicus

Lophocyon paraskevaidisi

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnivora</span> Order of mammals

Carnivora is an order of placental mammals that have specialized in primarily eating flesh, whose members are formally referred to as carnivorans. The order Carnivora is the sixth largest order of mammals, comprising at least 279 species on every major landmass and in a variety of habitats, ranging from the cold polar regions of Earth to the hyper-arid region of the Sahara Desert and the open seas. These mammals have a large array of diverse body plans with a wide diversity of shapes and sizes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mongoose</span> Family of mammals in Africa and Asia

A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family has two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to southern Europe, Africa and Asia, whereas the Mungotinae comprises 11 species native to Africa. The Herpestidae originated about 21.8 ± 3.6 million years ago in the Early Miocene and genetically diverged into two main genetic lineages between 19.1 and 18.5 ± 3.5 million years ago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viverridae</span> Family of carnivorans

Viverridae is a family of small to medium-sized, feliform mammals. The viverrids comprise 33 species placed in 14 genera. This family was named and first described by John Edward Gray in 1821. Viverrids occur all over Africa, southern Europe, and South and Southeast Asia, across the Wallace Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amphicyonidae</span> Extinct family of carnivores

Amphicyonidae is an extinct family of terrestrial carnivorans belonging to the suborder Caniformia. They first appeared in North America in the middle Eocene, spread to Europe by the late Eocene, and further spread to Asia and Africa by the early Miocene. They had largely disappeared worldwide by the late Miocene, with the latest recorded species at the end of the Miocene in Africa. They were among the first carnivorans to evolve large body size. Amphicyonids are colloquially referred to as "bear-dogs".

<i>Amphicyon</i> Extinct genus of carnivores

Amphicyon is an extinct genus of large carnivorans belonging to the family Amphicyonidae, subfamily Amphicyoninae, from the Miocene epoch. Members of this family received their vernacular name for possessing bear-like and dog-like features. They ranged over North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guloninae</span> Subfamily of carnivores

Guloninae is a subfamily of the mammal family Mustelidae distributed across Eurasia and the Americas. It includes martens and the fisher, tayra and wolverine. These genera were formerly included within a paraphyletic definition of the mustelid subfamily Mustelinae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feliformia</span> Suborder of carnivores

Feliformia is a suborder within the order Carnivora consisting of "cat-like" carnivorans, including cats, hyenas, mongooses, viverrids, and related taxa. Feliformia stands in contrast to the other suborder of Carnivora, Caniformia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viverroidea</span> Infraorder of carnivores

Viverroidea is a clade within Feliformia, containing both the family Viverridae, and the superfamily Herpestoidea.

<i>Herpestes</i> Genus within the mongoose family

Herpestes is a genus within the mongoose family Herpestidae. Several species in the family are known as slender mongooses. It is the type genus of the family, and comprises 5-6 living species, each with several subspecies. Fossil remains of three prehistoric species were excavated in France, and described in 1853.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paradoxurinae</span> Subfamily of carnivores

Paradoxurinae is a subfamily of the feliform viverrids that was denominated and first described by John Edward Gray in 1864. Pocock subordinated the genera Paradoxurus, Paguma and Arctictis to this subfamily.

Nothocyon is an extinct genus of carnivoran in the family Subparictidae which inhabited North America during the late Oligocene. At one time, many species of the dog family Canidae were placed in Nothocyon, but new fossils showed that the type species of Nothocyon, N. geismarianus, is more closely related to bears. The other species have been reassigned to other genera such as Cormocyon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stenoplesictidae</span> Extinct family of carnivores

Stenoplesictidae is the name of a polyphyletic family of extinct civet-like feliforms.

<i>Agnotherium</i> Extinct genus of carnivores

Agnotherium is a genus of large sized carnivoran mammals, belonging to the Amphicyonidae, which has been found in Western Europe, and possibly China and Northern Africa, and lived during the Late Miocene epoch. Despite only being known from fragmentary remains, the genus notable for hypercarnivorous adaptions, which have been said to represent the "apex" among its family.

<i>Ysengrinia</i> Extinct genus of mammals known as bear dogs

Ysengrinia is an extinct genus of carnivoran in the family Amphicyonidae, that lived during the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene. Fossil remains have been discovered in Western Europe, the United States and possibly China. The European species are among the earliest known members of the Thaumastocyoninae, a group of aberrant amphicyonids showcasing hypercarnivorous adations, but are only known from fragmentary remains. The American species is much better preserved and shows a robust, black-bear sized predator. These fossils play an important role in our understanding of the biotic interchange between Eurasia and North America during the earliest Miocene. However, more recent research suggests that the genus might be polyphyletic, and that several of its species should be excluded from Ysengrinia.

<i>Hyainailouros</i> Genus of mammals (fossil)

Hyainailouros ("hyena-cat") is an extinct polyphyletic genus of hyaenodont belonging to the family Hyainailouridae that lived during the early to middle Miocene, of which there were at least three species spread across Europe, Africa, and Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyaenodonta</span> Extinct order of mammals

Hyaenodonta is an extinct order of hypercarnivorous placental mammals of clade Pan-Carnivora from mirorder Ferae. Hyaenodonts were important mammalian predators that arose during the early Paleocene in Europe and persisted well into the late Miocene.

Isohyaenodon is an extinct polyphyletic genus of hyainailourid hyaenodont mammal from the subfamily Hyainailourinae). Remains are known from early to middle Miocene deposits in Kenya, East Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herpestoidea</span> Superfamily of mammals

Herpestoidea is a superfamily of mammalia carnivores which includes mongooses, Malagasy carnivorans and the hyenas.

Sivanasua is an extinct genus of carnivorous mammal found across Miocene Europe including Germany, Austria, France, Spain and the Czech Republic. Like other lophocyonids, Sivanasua had unusual lophodont dentition, meaning the molars had ridges across the grinding surface of the molars, an adaptation believed to be indicative of a herbivorous diet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thaumastocyoninae</span> Extinct subfamily of amphicyonids

Thaumastocyoninae is an extinct subfamily of amphicyonids, large terrestrial carnivores, which inhabited what is now Europe during the Miocene epoch. The subfamily was erected by Hürzeler (1940), and is defined by the complete suppression of m1 metaconid, reduction of the premolars, except the p4, which is reinforced, and the oblique abrasion of the teeth, and the possession of hypercarnivorous tendencies. Thaumastocyonines are poorly known, with only about 65 dental specimens, most of those isolated teeth, being known as of 2020, although more complete remains have recently been discovered.

References

  1. Pilgrim, G. E. (1931). Catalogue of the pontian Carnivora of Europe. British Museum (Natural History): 1174.
  2. 1 2 3 Morales, Jorge; Mayda, Serdar; Valenciano, Alberto; DeMiguel, Daniel; Kaya, Tanju (2019). "A new lophocyonid, Izmirictis cani gen. et sp. nov. (Carnivora: Mammalia), from the lower Miocene of Turkey". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. Online Edition. 17 (16): 1347–1358. Bibcode:2019JSPal..17.1347M. doi:10.1080/14772019.2018.1529000. hdl: 10261/223616 . S2CID   91268744.
  3. Fejfar, O.; Schmidt-Kittler, N.; Zacharov, M. (1987). "Lophocyon carpathicus n. gen. n. sp. aus dem Jungtertiaer der Ostslowakei und eine neue Unterfamilie der Schleichkatzen (Viverridae)". Palaeontographica Abteilung A. 199 (1–3): 1–22.