Dissopsalis Temporal range: Middle Miocene–Late Miocene |
|
---|---|
Dissopsalis carnifex skull restoration, specimen AM19401 | |
Conservation status | |
Fossil
|
|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Creodonta |
Family: | Hyaenodontidae |
Genus: | Dissopsalis Pilgrim, 1910 |
Type species | |
Dissopsalis carnifex |
|
Species | |
|
Dissopsalis is a genus of extinct predatory mammals of the order Creodonta. The older species, D. pyroclasticus, lived in Kenya during the middle Miocene, while the type species, D. carnifex, ranged from, Pakistan, India to China during the middle to late Miocene (Barry, 1988).
Dissopsalis is the last known creodont genus. It lived alongside its relative Hyaenodon weilini, a member of the very successful genus Hyaenodon, during the Miocene in China, and survived to the end of the Miocene, whereas H. weilini did not.