Biology:Siamogale melilutra
| Siamogale melilutra | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Mustelidae |
| Genus: | †Siamogale |
| Species: | †S. melilutra
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Siamogale melilutra Wang, Grohé, Su, White, Ji, Kelley, You & Yang, 2017
| |
Siamogale melilutra is an extinct species of giant otter from the late Miocene from Yunnan province, China .
Ranking among the largest fossil otters, Siamogale represents a feeding ecomorphology with no living analog. Its giant size and high mandibular strength confer shell-crushing capability matched only by other extinct molluscivores, such as the bear-like marine stem-pinniped Kolponomos.[1]
Taxonomy
The skull reveals a combination of otter-like and badger-like cranial and dental characteristics. The new species belongs to the Lutrinae because of its possession of a large infraorbital canal and ventral expansion of the mastoid process, among other traits.[2] Siamogale melilutra was about 1.9 m (6.25 ft) in overall length and weighed at least 40 kg (88 pounds).[3] The remains of the skull were found in China and were re-created with a special program called the CT scan which is able to reconstruct the skeleton without being damaged.
References
Wikidata ☰ Q28529641 entry
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- ↑ Tseng, Z. Jack; Su, Denise F.; Wang, Xiaoming; White, Stuart C.; Ji, Xueping (2017-11-09). "Feeding capability in the extinct giant Siamogale melilutra and comparative mandibular biomechanics of living Lutrinae" (in en). Scientific Reports 7 (1): 15225. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-15391-9. ISSN 2045-2322. PMID 29123190.
- ↑ Xiaoming Wang (2018). "A new otter of giant size, Siamogale melilutra sp. nov. (Lutrinae: Mustelidae: Carnivora), from the latest Miocene Shuitangba site in north-eastern Yunnan, south-western China, and a total-evidence phylogeny of lutrines". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 16: 39–65. doi:10.1080/14772019.2016.1267666. http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/11b1d0h9.
- ↑ "Scientists Discover Prehistoric Giant Otter Species In China". NPR. January 23, 2017. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/23/511251648/scientists-discover-prehistoric-giant-otter-species-in-china.
