| Megalictis Temporal range: Miocene |
|
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Mustelidae |
| Subfamily: | Oligobuninae |
| Genus: | Megalictis |
| Species: | M. ferox M. frazieri M. petersoni |
Megalictis is an extinct genus of large predatory mustelids, which existed in North America during the "cat gap" in the Miocene period.
The genus was first described by W. D. Matthew in 1907. Two similar genera discovered at the same time, Aelurocyon (Peterson, 1907) and Paroligobunis (Peterson, 1910) were identified as synonymous with Megalictis in 1996,[1] though Paroligobunis was re-established as a separate genus in 1998.[2] P. R. Bjork, in 1970, assigned the genus to the subfamily Mellivorinae,[3] whilst J. A. Baskin assigned it to Oligobuninae in 1998.[2]
Three species have been identified in the genus: M. frazieri, M. ferox, and M. petersoni, whilst two more, M. brevifacies and M. simplicidens, have since been determined to be synonymous with M. ferox.[2]