Post by Infinity Blade on Jun 14, 2015 7:52:38 GMT 5
Simocyon spp.
Life restoration of Simocyon. © @ Mauricio Antón
Temporal range: Vallesian of late Miocene (Tortonian; ~11.6-9Ma)[1]
Scientific classification:
Life
Domain: Eukaryota
(unranked): Unikonta
(unranked): Opisthokonta
(unranked): Holozoa
(unranked): Filozoa
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
(unranked): Bilateria
Clade: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Olfactores
Clade: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Clade: Eugnathostomata
Clade: Teleostomi
Superclass: Tetrapoda
Clade: Reptiliomorpha
Clade: Amniota
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Eupelycosauria
Clade: Sphenacodontia
Clade: Sphenacodontoidea
Order: Therapsida
Clade: Eutheriodonta
Suborder: Cynodontia
Clade: Epicynodontia
Infraorder: Eucynodontia
Parvorder: Probainognathia
Superfamily: Chiniquodontoidea
Clade: Prozostrodontia
Clade: Mammaliaformes
Class: Mammalia
Clade: Holotheria
Superlegion: Trechnotheria
Legion: Cladotheria
Sublegion: Zatheria
Infralegion: Tribosphenida
Subclass: Theria
Clade: Eutheria
Infraclass: Placentalia
Subcohort: Exafroplacentalia
Magnorder: Boreoeutheria
Superorder: Laurasiatheria
(unranked): Ferae
(unranked): Carnivoramorpha
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Caniformia
Infraorder: Arctoidea
Superfamily: Musteloidea
Family: Ailuridae
Subfamily: †Simocyoninae
Genus: †Simocyon
Species: †S. batalleri
†S. diaphorus
†S. primigenius
†S. hungaricus (unresolved)
Simocyon ("flat-nosed dog") is an extinct genus of ailurid that lived in the Miocene. It was closely related to the extant red panda (Ailurus fulgens).
Description:
Simocyon stood ~70 centimeters tall at the shoulder and weighed ~60 kilograms.[2] Unlike its modern relative, it was a hypercarnivore. Simocyon would have been a scansorial creature (adaptations included powerful shoulder and lower back musculature, large paws, flexible forelimbs, curved unguals, and a considerably long tail that functioned as a counterbalance).[3][4] It actually possessed a "false thumb" (radial sesamoid), which would have been used for moving within trees (as well as reaching food sources in trees), however the radial sesamoid was proportionally smaller in Simocyon.[3][2][4] The dental formula was 3.1.4.2/3.1.4.2.[4]
Restored skeleton of Simocyon, as well as a comparison of the manual bones of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) at the left and Simocyon at the right. © @ Mauricio Antón
Diet:
The animal's dental morphology was similar to a wolf's (Canis lupus). The canines were rather small and the rostrum wasn't notably high or broad, so it likely was more of a small-game specialist. Seemingly, the power of the bite was more concentrated towards the posterior end of the jaw, as the skull becomes broader at that portion (likewise, the sagittal crest was well-developed in this taxa).[4] P4 and the molars were morphologically well-suited for grinding/crushing, with the former being the main crushing tooth. This would have allowed bone-cracking behavior to some degree (it may have consumed small prey items completely with these crushing adaptations).[1]
Overall, its diet would have consisted of meat (both fresh meat or carrion), invertebrates, vegetable matter, and even bird eggs.[2]
Ecology:
Its morphology seems to imply a more or less felid-like mode of predation on comparatively small prey items.[4]
Simocyon coexisted with machairodontines and amphicyonids in the Batallones-1 site.[2][3][4] In particular, these included Machairodus, Paramachairodus, and Amphicyon. The first and third listed predators were both larger than Simocyon and thus climbing trees would have been an effective means of escaping danger imposed by either one of them. Paramachairodus however, would have posed a greater threat, as it was not only a formidable predator, but it was small enough to climb trees as well (it was described as "puma-sized", just like Simocyon). The ailurid's ability to locomote on thin branches would have allowed it to scavenge upon carcasses placed on trees by Paramachairodus and move out of the felid's reach.[4]
References:
[1] "Ailurid carnivoran mammal Simocyon from the late Miocene of Spain and the systematics of the genus" (Peigné et al., 2005).
[2] chasingsabretooths.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/denizens-of-madrids-miocene-woods-the-red-panda-relatives/
[3] "Evidence of a false thumb in a false carnivore clarifies the evolution of pandas" (Salesa et al., 2005).
[4] cenozoiclife.blogspot.com/2015/03/batallers-panda-simocyon-batalleri.html
Life restoration of Simocyon. © @ Mauricio Antón
Temporal range: Vallesian of late Miocene (Tortonian; ~11.6-9Ma)[1]
Scientific classification:
Life
Domain: Eukaryota
(unranked): Unikonta
(unranked): Opisthokonta
(unranked): Holozoa
(unranked): Filozoa
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
(unranked): Bilateria
Clade: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Olfactores
Clade: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Clade: Eugnathostomata
Clade: Teleostomi
Superclass: Tetrapoda
Clade: Reptiliomorpha
Clade: Amniota
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Eupelycosauria
Clade: Sphenacodontia
Clade: Sphenacodontoidea
Order: Therapsida
Clade: Eutheriodonta
Suborder: Cynodontia
Clade: Epicynodontia
Infraorder: Eucynodontia
Parvorder: Probainognathia
Superfamily: Chiniquodontoidea
Clade: Prozostrodontia
Clade: Mammaliaformes
Class: Mammalia
Clade: Holotheria
Superlegion: Trechnotheria
Legion: Cladotheria
Sublegion: Zatheria
Infralegion: Tribosphenida
Subclass: Theria
Clade: Eutheria
Infraclass: Placentalia
Subcohort: Exafroplacentalia
Magnorder: Boreoeutheria
Superorder: Laurasiatheria
(unranked): Ferae
(unranked): Carnivoramorpha
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Caniformia
Infraorder: Arctoidea
Superfamily: Musteloidea
Family: Ailuridae
Subfamily: †Simocyoninae
Genus: †Simocyon
Species: †S. batalleri
†S. diaphorus
†S. primigenius
†S. hungaricus (unresolved)
Simocyon ("flat-nosed dog") is an extinct genus of ailurid that lived in the Miocene. It was closely related to the extant red panda (Ailurus fulgens).
Description:
Simocyon stood ~70 centimeters tall at the shoulder and weighed ~60 kilograms.[2] Unlike its modern relative, it was a hypercarnivore. Simocyon would have been a scansorial creature (adaptations included powerful shoulder and lower back musculature, large paws, flexible forelimbs, curved unguals, and a considerably long tail that functioned as a counterbalance).[3][4] It actually possessed a "false thumb" (radial sesamoid), which would have been used for moving within trees (as well as reaching food sources in trees), however the radial sesamoid was proportionally smaller in Simocyon.[3][2][4] The dental formula was 3.1.4.2/3.1.4.2.[4]
Restored skeleton of Simocyon, as well as a comparison of the manual bones of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) at the left and Simocyon at the right. © @ Mauricio Antón
Diet:
The animal's dental morphology was similar to a wolf's (Canis lupus). The canines were rather small and the rostrum wasn't notably high or broad, so it likely was more of a small-game specialist. Seemingly, the power of the bite was more concentrated towards the posterior end of the jaw, as the skull becomes broader at that portion (likewise, the sagittal crest was well-developed in this taxa).[4] P4 and the molars were morphologically well-suited for grinding/crushing, with the former being the main crushing tooth. This would have allowed bone-cracking behavior to some degree (it may have consumed small prey items completely with these crushing adaptations).[1]
Overall, its diet would have consisted of meat (both fresh meat or carrion), invertebrates, vegetable matter, and even bird eggs.[2]
Ecology:
Its morphology seems to imply a more or less felid-like mode of predation on comparatively small prey items.[4]
Simocyon coexisted with machairodontines and amphicyonids in the Batallones-1 site.[2][3][4] In particular, these included Machairodus, Paramachairodus, and Amphicyon. The first and third listed predators were both larger than Simocyon and thus climbing trees would have been an effective means of escaping danger imposed by either one of them. Paramachairodus however, would have posed a greater threat, as it was not only a formidable predator, but it was small enough to climb trees as well (it was described as "puma-sized", just like Simocyon). The ailurid's ability to locomote on thin branches would have allowed it to scavenge upon carcasses placed on trees by Paramachairodus and move out of the felid's reach.[4]
References:
[1] "Ailurid carnivoran mammal Simocyon from the late Miocene of Spain and the systematics of the genus" (Peigné et al., 2005).
[2] chasingsabretooths.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/denizens-of-madrids-miocene-woods-the-red-panda-relatives/
[3] "Evidence of a false thumb in a false carnivore clarifies the evolution of pandas" (Salesa et al., 2005).
[4] cenozoiclife.blogspot.com/2015/03/batallers-panda-simocyon-batalleri.html
