Wikipedia

Amphicyonidae

(Redirected from Bear dog)
This article is about the extinct family of mammals. For the breeds of domestic dog, see Karelian Bear Dog and Tahltan Bear Dog. For dog bears, see Hemicyoninae.
Not to be confused with Amphicynodontidae or Arctocyonidae.

Amphicyonidae is an extinct family of terrestrial carnivorans belonging to the suborder Caniformia. They first appeared in North America in the middle Eocene (around 45 mya), spread to Europe by the late Eocene (35 mya), and further spread to Asia and Africa by the early Miocene (23 mya). They had largely disappeared worldwide by the late Miocene (5 mya), with the latest recorded species at the end of the Miocene in Africa. They were among the first carnivorans to evolve large body size. Amphicyonids are colloquially referred to as "bear-dogs".[1]

Amphicyonids
Temporal range: Middle Eocene – Late Miocene
Skeleton of Amphicyon
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Caniformia
Superfamily: †Amphicyonoidea
Family: †Amphicyonidae
Haeckel, 1866
Subfamilies

†Amphicyoninae
†Daphoeninae
†Haplocyoninae
†Temnocyoninae
†Thaumastocyoninae

Taxonomy

edit
 
Restoration of Amphicyon ingens

The family was erected by Haeckel in 1866 (also attributed to Trouessart 1885). Their exact position has long been disputed. Early paleontologists usually defined them as members of Canidae (the dog family) or Ursidae (the bear family), but the modern consensus is that they form their own family. Some researchers have defined it as the sister clade to ursids, based on morphological analysis of the ear region.[2][1] However, cladistic analysis and reclassification of several species of early carnivore as amphicyonids has strongly suggested that they may be basal caniforms, a lineage older than the origin of both bears and dogs.[3][4][5]

Amphicyonids should not be confused with the similar looking (and similarly nicknamed) "dog-bears", a more derived group of caniforms that is sometimes classified as a family (Hemicyonidae), but is more often considered a primitive subfamily of ursids (Hemicyoninae). They should also not be confused with Amphicynodontidae (another family of extinct caniforms which were related to bears or pinnipeds) or Arctocyonidae (a family of "condylarths" which literally translates to "bear-dogs").

Description

edit

Amphicyonids ranged in size from as small as 5 kg (11 lb) and as large as 100 to 773 kg (220 to 1,704 lb)[6] and evolved from wolf-like to bear-like body forms.[7]

Skull

edit
 
Skull diagram of Daphoenus vetus

Amphicyonids tended to have relatively large skulls, with the snout shorter than the rear portion of the cranium. In some large members of the family, such as Amphicyon, the back of the skull develops a sharp sagittal crest which defines attachment points for large jaw muscles.[8][9]

Amphicyonids had a relatively rudimentary form of auditory bulla, a bony sheath which encases the middle ear cavity. The bulla is small, mostly formed by the crescent-shaped ectotympanic bone below the middle ear. The entotympanics only make a minor contribution whenever they are ossified, which only becomes commonplace in Miocene amphicyonids. In these regards, amphicyonids are similar to living bears, otters, walruses, eared seals, and the red panda.[10][8] The bulla also helps to distinguish the evolutionary trajectory of amphicyonids: early bears such as Cephalogale have large bullae which are reduced through the course of their evolution, while dogs start out with large bullae which persist through their entire existence. Amphicyonids differ from both dogs and bears in that they start with a small bulla which gradually becomes more strongly developed later in their evolution.[10][9]

Teeth

edit
 
Cranium and mandible of Amphicyon, Paläontologisches Museum München

Like most carnivorans, amphicyonid teeth were adapted for carnivory, with large canines near the front and shearing carnassials at the back of the jaw. Amphicyonids were typically mesocarnivorous (majority meat-eating, like dogs) or hypercarnivorous (entirely meat-eating, like cats), and some were adapted for tough abrasive food. Only two small Miocene amphicyonines, Pseudarctos and Ictiocyon, show any evidence for a hypocarnivorous (majority plant-eating) diet.[9][11]

At the start of their evolution, amphicyonids retained the typical placental dental formula of 3.1.4.33.1.4.3, but each subfamily follows their own trend in modifying their teeth.[8][9] Daphoenines, for example, have dog-like teeth, with substantial premolars and reduced second and third molars. Temnocyonines and haplocyonines take this approach even further, with massive crushing premolars akin to hyenas. Amphicyonines follow the opposite path, reducing most premolars and greatly enlarging and strengthening the carnassials and second molar. Bears also have large molars, but their teeth are modified into wide rectangular forms for grinding plant material. Amphicyonids did not pursue the same adaptations; their upper molars always maintain a roughly triangular profile for shearing and crushing meat.[8][9] Thaumastocyonines were the most specialized for hypercarnivory, emphasizing massive blade-like carnassials at the expense of the rest of their postcanine teeth.[12][11]

Postcrania

edit
 
Life restoration and skeletal diagram of Daphoenodon superbus

Many amphicyonids had cat-like bodies, with a long tail and relatively short, strong limbs suitable for stalking and pouncing on their prey. Later and larger species tended to be plantigrade or semiplantigrade, walking with most or all of the surface of the foot against the ground like bears. This was the norm for amphicyonines,[9] thaumastocyonines,[13] and most daphoenines.[8] It is entirely possible that the largest amphicyonids were capable of both bear-style hunting (chasing down and mauling their prey with teeth and claws) and cat-style hunting (a quick ambush where the prey is killed with a bite to the neck).[9]

Many amphicyonid lineages instead adopted a digitigrade posture and locomotion (walking on their toes) and long legs specialized for running with a primarily front-to-back arc of movement. These cursorial wolf- or hyena-like forms included temnocyonines,[14] haplocyonines,[15] and some species of the large daphoenine Daphoenodon.[16][8]

Evolution

edit

It has long been uncertain where amphicyonids originated. It was thought that they may have crossed from Europe to North America during the Miocene epoch, but recent research suggests a possible North American origin from the miacids Miacis cognitus and M. australis (now renamed as the genera Gustafsonia and Angelarctocyon, respectively). As these are of North American origin, but appear to be early amphicyonids, it may be that the Amphicyonidae actually originates in North America.[3]

Other New World amphicyonids include the oldest known amphicyonid, Daphoenus (37–16 Mya).

Amphicyonids began to decline in the late Miocene, and disappeared by the end of the epoch. The exact reasons for this are unclear. The most recent known amphicyonid remains are teeth known from the Dhok Pathan horizon, northern Pakistan, dating to 7.4-5.3 mya.[17] The species is classically named Arctamphicyon lydekkeri, which may actually be synonymous with a species of Amphicyon.[18]

Fossils of juvenile Agnotherium, Ischyrocyon, and Magericyon all show an unusual type of tooth eruption in which there is a vulnerable stage at about two or three years of age where the subadult animal has no functional molar or carnassial teeth, the only functional cheek teeth being several milk premolars.[19] This period was suggested to be "presumably short" but would have made it very difficult for the animal to process food.[20] This type of tooth replacement is not seen in similar carnivorans like ursids or canids, and may have been one factor in the extinction of the Amphicyonidae.

Classification

edit

Family Amphicyonidae

Not assigned to a subfamily Subfamily Amphicyoninae Subfamily Haplocyoninae
(Eurasia)[21][13] 		Subfamily Daphoeninae
(North America) 		Subfamily Temnocyoninae
(North America)[14] 		Subfamily Thaumastocyoninae[12]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Wang, Xiaoming and Richard H. Tedford (2008). Dogs; their Fossil Relatives and Evolutionary History. Columbia University Press. pp. 10–11. ISBN 9780231135283.
  2. ^ Hunt Jr., Robert M. (2001). "Small Oligocene Amphicyonids from North America (Paradaphoenus, Mammalia, Carnivora)". American Museum Novitates (3331): 1–20. doi:10.1206/0003-0082(2001)331<0001:SOAFNA>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0003-0082. S2CID 198160461. Archived from the original on 2023-09-04. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  3. ^ a b Tomiya, Susumu; Tseng, Zhijie Jack (2016). "Whence the beardogs? Reappraisal of the Middle to Late Eocene 'Miacis' from Texas, USA, and the origin of Amphicyonidae (Mammalia, Carnivora)". Royal Society Open Science. 3 (10): 160518. Bibcode:2016RSOS....360518T. doi:10.1098/rsos.160518. PMC 5098994. PMID 27853569. Archived from the original on 2016-10-14. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  4. ^ Hunt, Robert M. Jr. (2004). "Global Climate and the Evolution of Large Mammalian Carnivores during the Later Cenozoic in North America" (PDF). Cenozoic Carnivores and Global Climate. pp. 139–285. doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2004)285<0139:C>2.0.CO;2. S2CID 86236545. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 20, 2007. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  5. ^ Morlo, Michael; Miller, Ellen R.; El-Barkooky, Ahmed N. (2007). "Creodonta and Carnivora from Wadi Moghra, Egypt". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 27 (1): 145–159. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[145:CACFWM]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 86235694.
  6. ^ Sorkin, B. 2008: A biomechanical constraint on body mass in terrestrial mammalian predators. Lethaia, Vol. 41, pp. 333–347.
  7. ^ Jacobs, Louis L. Jacobs; Scott, Kathleen Marie: Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America: Terrestrial carnivores, Cambridge University Press, 1998
  8. ^ a b c d e f Hunt, R. M. Jr. (1998). "Amphicyonidae" (PDF). In Janis, Christine M.; Scott, Kathleen M.; Jacobs, Louis L. (eds.). Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America, volume 1: Terrestrial carnivores, ungulates, and ungulatelike mammals. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. pp. 196–227. ISBN 978-0-521-35519-3.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Viranti, Suvi (1996). "European Miocene Amphicyonidae – taxonomy, systematics, and ecology". Acta Zoologica Fennica. 204: 1–61.
  10. ^ a b Hunt, Robert M. (1974). "The auditory bulla in carnivora: An anatomical basis for reappraisal of carnivore evolution". Journal of Morphology. 143 (1): 21–75. doi:10.1002/jmor.1051430103. ISSN 0362-2525. PMID 4826105.
  11. ^ a b c Solé, Floréal; Lesport, Jean-François; Heitz, Antoine; Mennecart, Bastien (2022-06-15). "A new gigantic carnivore (Carnivora, Amphicyonidae) from the late middle Miocene of France". PeerJ. 10: e13457. doi:10.7717/peerj.13457. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 9206431. PMID 35726261.
  12. ^ a b Morales, J.; Fejfar, O.; Heizmann, E.; Wagner, J.; Valenciano, A.; Bella, J. (2019). "A new Thaumastocyoninae (Amphicyonidae, Carnivora) from the early Miocene of Tuchořice, the Czech Republic" (PDF). Fossil Imprint. 75 (3–4): 397–411. doi:10.2478/if-2019-0025. S2CID 210921722. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-08-14.
  13. ^ a b Morales, J.; Abella, J.; et al. (May 2021). "Ammitocyon kainos gen. et sp. nov., a chimerical amphicyonid (Mammalia, Carnivora) from the late Miocene carnivore traps of Cerro de los Batallones (Madrid, Spain)". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 19 (5): 393–415. doi:10.1080/14772019.2021.1910868. S2CID 235363054. Archived from the original on 2023-04-06. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
  14. ^ a b Hunt, Robert (2011-01-01). "Evolution of large carnivores during the mid-Cenozoic of North America: The Temnocyonine Radiation (Mammalia, Amphicyonidae)". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 358: 1–153. doi:10.1206/358.1. Archived from the original on 2023-08-02. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
  15. ^ Peigné, Stéphane; Heizmann, Elmar P.J. (2003). "The Amphicyonidae (Mammalia: Carnivora) from Ulm-Westtangente (MN 2, Early Miocene), Baden-Württemberg, Germany – Systematics and ecomorphology". Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Ser. B. 343: 1–133.
  16. ^ Hunt, Robert M. (2009). "Long-Legged Pursuit Carnivorans (Amphicyonidae, Daphoeninae) from the Early Miocene of North America". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 318: 1–95. doi:10.1206/593.1.
  17. ^ Sehgal, R. K. and A. C. Nanda (2002). "Age of the fossiliferous Siwalik sediments exposed in the vicinity of Nurpur, District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh". Current Science. 82 (4): 392–395. JSTOR 24106648.
  18. ^ Stéphane Peigné (2006). "A new amphicyonid (Mammalia, Carnivora, Amphicyonidae) from the late middle Miocene of northern Thailand and a review of the amphicyonine record in Asia". Thailand Journal of Asian Earth Sciences. 26 (5): 519–532. Bibcode:2006JAESc..26..519P. doi:10.1016/j.jseaes.2004.11.003.
  19. ^ Morlo, Michael; Bastl, Katharina; Habersetzer, Jörg; Engel, Thomas; Lischewsky, Bastian; Lutz, Herbert; von Berg, Axel; Rabenstein, Renate; Nagel, Doris (3 September 2019). "The apex of amphicyonid hypercarnivory: solving the riddle of Agnotherium antiquum Kaup, 1833 (Mammalia, Carnivora)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 39 (5): e1705848. Bibcode:2019JVPal..39E5848M. doi:10.1080/02724634.2019.1705848. S2CID 214431583.
  20. ^ Morlo, Michael; Bastl, Katharina; Habersetzer, Jörg; Engel, Thomas; Lischewsky, Bastian; Lutz, Herbert; von Berg, Axel; Rabenstein, Renate; Nagel, Doris (3 September 2019). "The apex of amphicyonid hypercarnivory: solving the riddle of Agnotherium antiquum Kaup, 1833 (Mammalia, Carnivora)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 39 (5): e1705848. Bibcode:2019JVPal..39E5848M. doi:10.1080/02724634.2019.1705848. S2CID 214431583.
  21. ^ a b Jiangzuo, Q.; Wang, S.; et al. (September 2019). "New material of Gobicyon (Carnivora, Amphicyonidae, Haplocyoninae) from northern China and a review of Aktaucyonini evolution". Papers in Palaeontology. 7 (1): 307–327. doi:10.1002/spp2.1283. S2CID 204264754.
  22. ^ Berger, Jean-Pierre (June 1998). "'Rochette' (Upper Oligocene, Swiss Molasse): a strange example of a fossil assemblage". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 101 (1–4): 95–110. Bibcode:1998RPaPa.101...95B. doi:10.1016/S0034-6667(97)00071-7.
  23. ^ a b c d e Fournier, Morgane; Ladevèze, Sadrine; Le Verger, Kévin; Fischer, Valentin; Speijer, Robert P.; Solé, Floréal (2020). "On the morphology of the astragalus and calcaneus of the amphicyonids (Carnivora, Mammalia) from the Paleogene of Europe: implications for the ecology of the European bear-dogs". Geodiversitas. 42 (18): 305–325. doi:10.5252/geodiversitas2020v42a18. S2CID 220714559.
  24. ^ Ginsburg, Léonard (2002). "Un Amphicyonidae (Carnivora, Mammalia) nouveau du Miocène moyen de Vieux-Collonges (Rhône)". Symbioses (in French). 7: 55–57.
  25. ^ a b c d Peign, Stphane; Salesa, Manuel J.; Antn, Mauricio; Morales, Jorge (2008). "A New Amphicyonine (Carnivora: Amphicyonidae) from the Upper Miocene of Batallones-1, Madrid, Spain". Palaeontology. 51 (4): 943–965. Bibcode:2008Palgy..51..943P. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2008.00788.x. S2CID 55334897.
  26. ^ Solé, Floréal; Fischer, Valentin; Denayer, Julien; Speijer, Robert P.; Fournier, Morgane; Le Verger, Kévin; Ladevèze, Sandrine; Folie, Annelise; Smith, Thierry (2020). "The upper Eocene-Oligocene carnivorous mammals from the Quercy Phosphorites (France) housed in Belgian collections". Geologica Belgica. 24 (1–2): 1–16. doi:10.20341/gb.2020.006. S2CID 224860287.
  27. ^ de Bonis, Louis (2020). "New genus of amphicyonid carnivoran (Mammalia, Carnivora, Amphicyonidae) from the phosphorites of Quercy (France)". Fossil Imprint. 76 (1): 201–208. doi:10.37520/fi.2020.013. S2CID 229196919.
  28. ^ Wang, Xiaoming; Hong-jiang, Wang; Jiangzuo, Qigao (2016). "New record of a haplocyonine amphicyonid in early Miocene of Nei Mongol fills a long-suspected geographic hiatus". Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 54 (1): 21–35.
  29. ^ Morales, Jorge; Pickford, M.; Valenciano, Alberto (2016). "Systematics of African Amphicyonidae, with descriptions of new material from Napak (Uganda) and Grillental (Namibia)". Journal of Iberian Geology. 42 (2): 131–150. doi:10.13039/501100003329. hdl:10261/137042. ISSN 1698-6180. Archived from the original on 2022-11-27. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  30. ^ Grohé, Camille; de Bonis, Louis; Chaimanee, Yaowalak; Chavasseau, Olivier; Rugbumrung, Mana; Yamee, Chotima; Suraprasit, Kantapon; Gibert, Corentin; Surault, Jérôme; Blondel, Cécile; Jaeger, Jean-Jacques (2020). "The Late Middle Miocene Mae Moh Basin of Northern Thailand: The Richest Neogene Assemblage of Carnivora from Southeast Asia and a Paleobiogeographic Analysis of Miocene Asian Carnivorans". American Museum Novitates (3952): 1–57. doi:10.1206/3952.1. S2CID 219296152. Archived from the original on 2023-05-26. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  31. ^ Werdelin, Lars; Simpson, Scott W. (2009). "The last amphicyonid (Mammalia, Carnivora) in Africa". Geodiversitas. 31 (4): 775–787. doi:10.5252/g2009n4a775. ISSN 1280-9659. S2CID 73677723.
  32. ^ a b c Morales, Jorge; Pickford, Martin (2022). "The taxonomic status of "Ysengrinia" ginsburgi Morales et al. 1998 (Amphicyonidae, Carnivora) from the basal middle Miocene of Arrisdrift, Namibia" (PDF). Communications of the Geological Survey of Namibia. 24: 1–16. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2023-05-01 – via Google Scholar.
  33. ^ Le Verger, Kévin; Solé, Floréal; Ladevèze, Sandrine (2020). "Description of a new species of Cynodictis Bravard & Pomel, 1850 (Carnivora, Mammalia) from the Quercy Phosphorites with comments on the use of skull morphology for phylogenetics" (PDF). Geodiversitas. 42 (16): 239–255. doi:10.5252/geodiversitas2020v42a16. S2CID 220281575. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-09-04. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  34. ^ Jiangzuo, Qigao; Li, Chunxiao; Wang, Shiqi; Sun, Danhui (2018-11-02). "Amphicyon zhanxiangi, sp. nov., a new amphicyonid (Mammalia, Carnivora) from northern China". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 38 (6): e1539857. Bibcode:2018JVPal..38E9857J. doi:10.1080/02724634.2018.1539857. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 91998860. Archived from the original on 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
  35. ^ Werdelin, Lars (2019). "Middle Miocene Carnivora and Hyaenodonta from Fort Ternan, western Kenya". Geodiversitas. 41 (sp1): 267–283. doi:10.5252/geodiversitas2019v41a6. S2CID 146620949.
  36. ^ Morales, Jorge; Pickford, Martin (2022). "The taxonomic status of "Ysengrinia" ginsburgi Morales et al. 1998 (Amphicyonidae, Carnivora) from the basal middle Miocene of Arrisdrift, Namibia" (PDF). Communications of the Geological Survey of Namibia. 24: 1–16. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2023-05-01 – via Google Scholar.
  37. ^ Morales; Fejfar; Heizmann; Wagner; Valenciano; Abella (2021). "The Amphicyoninae (Amphicyonidae, Carnivora, Mammalia) Of The Early Miocene From Tuchořice, The Czech Republic". Fossil Imprint. 77 (1): 126–144. doi:10.37520/fi.2021.011. S2CID 245032640. Archived from the original on 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  38. ^ Fejfar, O.; Heizmann, E. (October 2015). "An illustrated summary of the lower Miocene carnivores (Mammalia, Carnivora) of Tuchořice, Czech Republic". Historical Biology. 28 (1–2): 316–329. doi:10.1080/08912963.2015.1029923. S2CID 85904748.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=Amphicyonidae&oldid=1262718281"