Sarkastodon

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Sarkastodon Fossil range: Late Eocene
Conservation status
Extinct (fossil)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Creodonta Family: Oxyaenidae Genus: Sarkastodon

Sarkastodon was a giant meat-eating mammal that lived in the Eocene, about 35 million years ago. It was a member of the extinct order of creodonts (Latin for "flesh-ripping teeth"). Looking much like a modern bear, except larger than any bear that ever lived, Sarkastodon was a carnivore that hunted large animals. It is expected that Sarkastodon, with its massive size, would be able to kill a modern elephant. Fossils of these great beasts have been found in Mongolia.

Sarkastodon stood about 6 feet tall at the shoulder when on all fours, and had a large, raccoon-like tail. The very stocky body was about 10 feet long. While on its hind legs, it could have touched an object 19 feet off the ground with its front claws. It would have weighed in at well over a ton, about as heavy as a Clydesdale horse. It is believed to have evolved to such a size to cope with massive prey, as Central Asia during the Eocene was home to huge mammals, such as rhinoceroses, brontotheres and chalicotheres. The fossilized teeth of Sarkastodon show that it ate a variety of foods, and probably led a lifestyle in some ways like that of modern brown bears. Creodonts, however, had teeth arranged differently from Carnivora which somewhat restricted their diet.

Sarkastodon, like the other creodonts, eventually was replaced by Carnivora i.e. cats, dogs, bears, weasels, and related forms. The process took tens of millions of years, and the exact reasons for the replacement are not fully known.

There are few artistic depictions of this animal, which is little known to the general public.

A write up can be found in The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures 1999 Simon & Schuster N.Y., N.Y.

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• Artistic reconstruction of Sarkastodon The artist shows Sarkastodon in the background, waiting for Andrewsarchus to finish feeding. The dead Brontothere shown would have been somewhat larger than a modern rhinoceros. A primate can be seen on a tree branch, and an early member of Carnivora, which eventually became the dominant land predators, is seen in the foreground.