Paradaphoenus

Paradaphoenus
Temporal range: 33–6.9 Ma
Early Oligocene-Early Miocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Caniformia
Family: Amphicyonidae
Subfamily: Amphicyoninae
Genus: Paradaphoenus
Wortman, Matthew (1899)
Species
  • P. cuspigerus
  • P. minimus
  • P. tooheyi

Paradaphoenus is a physically small member of the extinct family of terrestrial carnivores belonging to the suborder Caniformia, family Amphicyonidae ("bear dog"), and which inhabited North America from the Early Oligocene subepoch to the Early Miocene subepoch living 33.9—16.3 Ma, existing for approximately 17.6 million years.[1]

Contents

Taxonomy

Paradaphoenus was named by Wortman and Matthew (1899) and was assigned to Daphoeninae by Hunt (1998); and to Amphicyonidae by Wortman and Matthew (1899), Carroll (1988) and Hunt (2001).

Morphology

A single specimen was measured by Legendre and Roth in 1988 and estimated mass was 1.89 kg (4.1 lbs).

Fossil distribution

Haystack, Oregon, Banner County, Nebraska, Dawes County, Nebraska, Sheep Mtn, South Dakota.

Species

P. cuspigerus (synonymous with Amphicyon entoptychi), P. minimus, P. tooheyi

Sister genera

Afrocyon, Amphicyanis, Arctamphicyon, Brachycyon, Cynodictis, Drassonax, Goupilictis, Guangxicyon, Haplocyon, Haplocyonoides, Haplocyonopsis, Harpagophagus, Ictiocyon, Pachycynodon, Protemnocyon, Pseudamphicyon, Pseudarctos, Pseudocyonopsis, Sarcocyon, Symplectocyon, Vishnucyon

Sources