Simocyon
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Simocyon Temporal range: late Miocene to early Pliocene |
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| Simocyon primigenius lower jaw | |
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Fossil
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Ailuridae |
| Subfamily: | †Simocyoninae |
| Genus: |
†Simocyon Wagner, 1858 |
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Simocyon (“short-snouted dog”) is a genus of extinct mammal belonging to the order Carnivora. Simocyon, which was about the size of a mountain lion, lived in the late Miocene and early Pliocene epochs, and has been found in Europe, Asia, and, rarely, North America (Peigné et al., 2005) and Africa.
The relationship of Simocyon to other carnivores has been controversial, but studies of the structure of its ear, teeth, and ankle now indicate that its closest living relative is the red panda, Ailurus (Wang, 1997; Peigné et al., 2005), although it is different enough to be classified in a separate subfamily (Simocyoninae) along with related genera Alopecocyon and Actiocyon. While the red panda is primarily herbivorous, the teeth and skull of Simocyon indicate that it was carnivorous, and it may have engaged in some bone crushing, like living hyaenas (Peigné et al., 2005). The skeleton of Simocyon indicates that, like the red panda, it could climb trees, although it probably also spent considerable time on the ground (Salesa et al., 2008). Simocyon and Ailurus both have a radial sesamoid, an unusual bone in the wrist that acts like a false thumb (Salesa et al., 2006). Its competitors during its time range were tremarctine bears, nimravid cats, and early canids.
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