Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Temnocyon

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Kingdom
  
Animalia

Superfamily
  
Arctoidea

Subfamily
  
Temnocyoninae

Rank
  
Genus

Class
  
Mammalia

Family
  
Amphicyonidae

Phylum
  
Chordata

Order
  
Carnivores

Temnocyon httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Similar
  
Carnivores, Ysengrinia, Daphoenodon, Daphoenus

Temnocyon is an extinct genus of carnivorous mammals belonging to the family of Amphicyonidae (bear-dog) endemic to North America that lived during the Oligocene to Early Miocene approximately 30.3—20.6 mya existing approximately 9.7 million years.

Contents

Taxonomy

Temnocyon was named by Cope (1879). Its type is Temnocyon altigenis. It was assigned to Amphicyonidae by Cope (1879) and Carroll (1988); and to Temnocyoninae by Hunt (1998).

Morphology

A single specimen was examined for by body mass by Legendre and Roth. It was estimated to have weighed 21.3 kg (47 lb).

Fossil distribution

The first fossils are recorded in North America at Logan Butte in the John Day beds of Oregon 29–29.5 Ma., in the Sharps Formation of the Wounded Knee area, South Dakota 28–29.5 Ma, and in the Gering Formation at Wildcat Ridge, Nebraska 28.3 Ma. These early Temnocyonines attained the size of coyotes or small wolves (15–30 kg) are identified by a uniquely specialized dentition. The last documented occurrences of Temnocyonines are found in sediments in northwest Nebraska and southeastern Wyoming (Hunt, 2004).

References

Temnocyon Wikipedia