Leptocyon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leptocyon Temporal range: Oligocene–Miocene |
|
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Family: | Canidae |
Subfamily: | Caninae |
Genus: | †Leptocyon |
Species | |
|
|
Fossil range of Leptocyon species. |
Leptocyon (Greek: slender dog[1]) is a small extinct genus of canid endemic to North America during the Oligocene through Miocene living from 24.8—10.3 mya, existing for approximately 15.5 million years.[2]
Leptocyon was a small bodied, fox-like animal with a slender jaw.[3]
Taxonomy[edit]
Leptocyon was named by Matthew (1918). It was synonymized subjectively with Vulpes by Gregory (1942); it was revalidated by Webb (1969), Carroll (1988) and Munthe (1998). It was assigned to Canidae by Matthew (1918), Webb (1969), Carroll (1988) and Munthe (1998).[4][5]
Morphology[edit]
Body mass[edit]
Two specimens were examined by Legendre and Roth. Estimated body mass of these two was 3.26 kg (7.2 lb)[6]
References[edit]
- ^ "Leptocyon". About.com. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
- ^ PaleoBiology Database: Leptocyon, basic info
- ^ Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America: Terrestrial animals of North America Volume 1, Terrestrial Carnivores, Ungulates, and Ungulate like Mammals. Christine M. Janis carnivores. Louis L. Jacobs, Kathleen Marie Scott.
- ^ J. T. Gregory. 1942. University of California Publications, Bulletin of the Department of Geological Sciences 26(4)
- ^ S. D. Webb. 1969. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences 78
- ^ S. Legendre and C. Roth. 1988. Correlation of carnassial tooth size and body weight in recent carnivores (Mammalia). Historical Biology 1(1):85-98
External links[edit]
|
Wikispecies has information related to: Nyctereutes |
This canid article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This article related to prehistoric animals from order Carnivora is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |