Mesocyon
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Mesocyon Temporal range: Early Oligocene–Early Miocene |
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| Skull | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Subfamily: | †Hesperocyoninae |
| Genus: |
†Mesocyon Scott, 1890 |
| Type species | |
| †Temnocyon coryphaeus |
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| Species | |
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Mesocyon is an extinct genus of terrestrial carnivore within the family Canidae, subfamily Hesperocyoninae, which inhabited North America from the Early Oligocene to Early Miocene 38.9—20.6 Ma, existing for approximately 18 million years.
Though a carnivore, dentition suggests this animal was a hypercarnivore or mesocarnivore.
Mesocyon was the most basal member of a clade that also includes the genera Cynodesmus, Sunkahetanka, Philotrox, and Enhydrocyon.Mesocyon was named by Scott (1890). It was synonymized subjectively with Enhydrocyon by Swisher (1982). It was assigned to Canidae by Scott (1890), Carroll (1988) and Stevens (1991).
Two specimens were examined by Legendre and Roth with the first specimen's mass being estimated at 7.4 kg (16.3 lbs). The second specimen's mass was estimated at 7.19 kg (15.8 lbs).
Fossils were uncovered on two sites in north central Oregon. Also, 10 other sites from southern CaliforniaColorado, southern Wyoming, and western Nebraska.
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