Kingdom Animalia Family Mustelidae Phylum Chordata Order Carnivores | Class Mammalia Subfamily Mustelinae Rank Species | |
Genus †Trigonictis
Cope (1868) Similar Carnivores, Pannonictis, Sthenictis, Plesiogulo, Megalenhydris | ||
Trigonictis macrodon is an extinct genera and species of mammal related to a grison (genus Galictis) of North America living during the Pliocene through Pleistocene from ~4.1–1.6 Ma. (AEO). existing for approximately 2.5 million years.
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Morphology and diet
Trigonictis is most closely related to the modern neotropical galictines, Sminthosinis and possibly Canimartes. According to Kurtén and Anderson, Trigonictis macrodon was about the size of Martes pennanti, a fisher quickly moving and very capable of swimming. It was closely related to a group of galactine mustelids and reached the New World in the Middle Pliocene. Its diet was probably the rabbit, †Hypolagus, ground squirrels, and young beavers.
Fossil distribution
Fossil specimens were found from western Washington and Oregon in the northwest, south to Southern California and southeast Arizona, to Idaho, Nebraska, Oklahoma and four areas of Florida.
Taxonomy
Originally named Galera macrodon by Cope in 1868. It was recombined as Putorius macrodon by Wortman in 1883 and by and Cope and Wortman in 1884. It was recombined as Galictis macrodon by Nehring in 1886, Roger in 1896, Trouessart (1897), Nehring (1901), Hay in 1902, Trouessart in 1904 and Reig in 1957. Recombination occurred again as Grison macrodon by Hay in 1919, 1923, and 1930. By Schreuder in 1935. It again was recombined as Trigonictis macrodon by Ray et al. in 1981.
Morphology
Body mass was estimated on two specimens by Legendre and Roth (1988).