Post by Infinity Blade on May 10, 2015 6:02:20 GMT 5
Lycopsis spp.
Well-preserved specimen of L. longirostrus in its matrix.
Temporal range: Middle Miocene
Scientific classification:
Domain: Eukaryota
(unranked): Unikonta
(unranked): Opisthokonta
(unranked): Holozoa
(unranked): Filozoa
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
(unranked): Bilateria
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Clade: Eugnathostomata
Clade: Teleostomi
Superclass: Tetrapoda
Clade: Reptiliomorpha
Clade: Amniota
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Eupelycosauria
Clade: Sphenacodontia
Clade: Sphenacodontoidea
Order: Therapsida
Suborder: Cynodontia
Clade: Prozostrodontia
Clade: Mammaliaformes
Class: Mammalia
Legion: Cladotheria
Sublegion: Zatheria
Infralegion: Tribosphenida
Subclass: Theria
Infraclass: Metatheria
Order: †Sparassodonta
Family: †Borhyaenidae
Genus: †Lycopsis
Species: †L. longirostrus
†L. torresi
†L. vivirensis
Lycopsis is an extinct genus of predatory metatherian that lived in Miocene South America.
Distinguishing features among species and evolution:
L. longirostrus was larger than L. torresi in size. Furthermore, the fourth molar (M4) was more narrow than the third (M3), the second premolar (P2) was larger than the third (P3), and the mandibular ramus' ventral border was straight. The former species was proposed to have directly evolved from the latter.[1]
Description:
Lycopsis was clearly a carnivore. L. longirostrus was ~35 centimeters tall at the shoulder and weighed ~15 kilograms. The ulnae and tibiae were straight and the manus was semi-digitigrade, both of which are cursorial adaptations. At the same time however, the pollex was semi-opposable, there was a development of mm. spinati, pectoralis, and biceps, the metatarsals were short, the hallux was prominent, and the lower ankle joint was poorly-stabilized. It doesn't appear to have been particularly scansorial, although it could have scrabbled in trees if it had to; this was probably a necessity because of the fact that Lycopsis lived in dense forests and that there was a myriad of crocodilians it was sympatric with. Accordingly, Lycopsis was an ambush predator of small and mid-sized game that could have ran or climbed but it wasn't predominantly specialized for either behavior.[2][3]
References:
[1] "A New Species of Lycopsis (Borhyaenidae:Marsupialia) from the La Venta Fauna (Late Miocene) of Colombia, South America" (Marshall, 1977).
[2] "Functional-Adaptive Analysis of the Postcranial Skeleton of a Laventan Borhyaenoid, Lycopsis longirostris [sic]* (Marsupialia, Mammalia)" (Argot, 2004).
[3] blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/2012/07/12/meet-the-borhyaenoids-2012/
*Argot misspells it as L. longirostris.
Well-preserved specimen of L. longirostrus in its matrix.
Temporal range: Middle Miocene
Scientific classification:
Domain: Eukaryota
(unranked): Unikonta
(unranked): Opisthokonta
(unranked): Holozoa
(unranked): Filozoa
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
(unranked): Bilateria
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Clade: Eugnathostomata
Clade: Teleostomi
Superclass: Tetrapoda
Clade: Reptiliomorpha
Clade: Amniota
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Eupelycosauria
Clade: Sphenacodontia
Clade: Sphenacodontoidea
Order: Therapsida
Suborder: Cynodontia
Clade: Prozostrodontia
Clade: Mammaliaformes
Class: Mammalia
Legion: Cladotheria
Sublegion: Zatheria
Infralegion: Tribosphenida
Subclass: Theria
Infraclass: Metatheria
Order: †Sparassodonta
Family: †Borhyaenidae
Genus: †Lycopsis
Species: †L. longirostrus
†L. torresi
†L. vivirensis
Lycopsis is an extinct genus of predatory metatherian that lived in Miocene South America.
Distinguishing features among species and evolution:
L. longirostrus was larger than L. torresi in size. Furthermore, the fourth molar (M4) was more narrow than the third (M3), the second premolar (P2) was larger than the third (P3), and the mandibular ramus' ventral border was straight. The former species was proposed to have directly evolved from the latter.[1]
Description:
Lycopsis was clearly a carnivore. L. longirostrus was ~35 centimeters tall at the shoulder and weighed ~15 kilograms. The ulnae and tibiae were straight and the manus was semi-digitigrade, both of which are cursorial adaptations. At the same time however, the pollex was semi-opposable, there was a development of mm. spinati, pectoralis, and biceps, the metatarsals were short, the hallux was prominent, and the lower ankle joint was poorly-stabilized. It doesn't appear to have been particularly scansorial, although it could have scrabbled in trees if it had to; this was probably a necessity because of the fact that Lycopsis lived in dense forests and that there was a myriad of crocodilians it was sympatric with. Accordingly, Lycopsis was an ambush predator of small and mid-sized game that could have ran or climbed but it wasn't predominantly specialized for either behavior.[2][3]
References:
[1] "A New Species of Lycopsis (Borhyaenidae:Marsupialia) from the La Venta Fauna (Late Miocene) of Colombia, South America" (Marshall, 1977).
[2] "Functional-Adaptive Analysis of the Postcranial Skeleton of a Laventan Borhyaenoid, Lycopsis longirostris [sic]* (Marsupialia, Mammalia)" (Argot, 2004).
[3] blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/2012/07/12/meet-the-borhyaenoids-2012/
*Argot misspells it as L. longirostris.
