Biology:Enhydrocyon
Enhydrocyon is an extinct genus of bone-crushing borophagine canid which inhabited North America during the Oligocene and Early Miocene, 30.8—20.4 Ma, existing for approximately 11 million years. [1]
Description
Enhydrocyon had more specialised and strongly decussating Hunter-Schreger bands (HSBs) compared to earlier canids.[2] It possessed a short snout and deep jaws reminiscent of a jaguar.[3] These features give the skull a shape resembling that of the extant sea otter (Enhydra), prompting the scientific name. Enhydrocyon had an estimated weight of about 10 kilograms (22 lb).[4]
Palaeobiology
Diet
Species of Enhydrocyon were relatively large, powerfully built carnivores.[3] Enhydrocyon was the earliest genus of canid adapted to be specialized predators.[4] The dentition of Enhydrocyon suggests this animal was a hypercarnivore or mesocarnivore.[5]
Species
- †Enhydrocyon basilatus Cope 1879
- †E. crassidens Matthew 1907
- †E. pahinsintewakpa Macdonald 1963
- †E. sectorius Cope 1883
- †E. stenocephalus Cope 1879
References
- ↑ [1] Enhydrocyon at fossilworks
- ↑ Figueirido, Borja; Martín-Serra, A.; Tseng, Zhijie Jack; Janis, Christine M. (18 August 2015). "Habitat changes and changing predatory habits in North American fossil canids" (in en). Nature Communications 6 (1). doi:10.1038/ncomms8976. ISSN 2041-1723. https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms8976#citeas. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 David Macdonald. The Velvet Claw: A Natural History of the Carnivores. BBC Books: London; 1992. p83.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wang, Xiaoming; Tedford, Richard H. (2008). Dogs, Their Fossil Relatives and Evolutionary History. Columbia. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-231-13528-3.
- ↑ R. M. Nowak. 1991. Walker's Mammals of the World. Maryland, Johns Hopkins University Press (edited volume) II
- Wang, Xiaoming (1994). "Phylogenetic systematics of the Hesperocyoninae (Carnivora, Canidae)". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 221: 1–207.
Template:Canidae extinct nav Wikidata ☰ Q3725386 entry
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