Oxetocyon

Oxetocyon ("beginning dog") is an extinct monospecific genus of the Borophaginae subfamily of canids native to North America. It lived during the Early Oligocene epoch,[1] existing for approximately 2.5 million years . Fossils have been found in Nebraska and South Dakota.

Oxetocyon
Temporal range: Early Oligocene–Late Oligocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Subfamily: †Borophaginae
Genus: †Oxetocyon
Green, 1954
Species:
†O. cuspidatus
Binomial name
†Oxetocyon cuspidatus
Green, 1954
Range of Oxetocyon based on fossil distribution

Fossils of Oxetocyon are rare and, as a result, the genus is poorly known, and only the teeth, dentaries, and a fragmentary skull have been reported. The teeth of Oxetocyon indicate a hypocarnivorous diet, as is found in the living raccoon dog, and suggest a potential relationship to the unusual borophagine Otarocyon. Oxetocyon is distinguished from Otarocyon by its own set of dental specializations for an omnivorous diet, particularly by the presence of a cleft that divides each upper molar into front and back halves.[2]

References
  1. PaleoBiology Database: Oxetocyon Taxonomy, Species
  2. Xiaoming Wang, R.H. Tedford, and B.E. Taylor. 1999. Phylogenetic systematics of the Borophaginae


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.