Cephalogale
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| Cephalogale Temporal range: late Oligocene–Miocene |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Superfamily: | Arctoidea |
| Family: | Hemicyonidae / Ursidae |
| Subfamily: | † Hemicyoninae |
| Genus: | Cephalogale Jourdan, 1862 |
| Species: | C. geoffroyi |
| Binomial name | |
| Cephalogale geoffroyi Filhol, 1879 |
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Cephalogale is an extinct genus of bear-like hemicyonid carnivore of the late Oligocene through Miocene epochs, endemic to North America and Europe living from around 33.9—20 Ma, existing for approximately 13.9 million years.
Before it was reconsidered to be close to the ancestry of hemicyonids, Cephalogale was once considered to be an ancestor of all bears.[1]
[edit] Taxonomy
Cephalogale was named by Henri Filhol in 1879. Its type is Cephalogale geoffroyi. It was assigned to Ursidae by Carroll (1988); to Hemicyoninae by Hunt (1998); and to Ursoidea by Wang et al. (2005).[2][3]
[edit] Fossil distribution
- Dětaň, Czech Republic ~33.9—28.4 Ma.
- Cetina de Aragon, Spain ~22.4—20 Ma.
- Standing Rock Quarry, Zia Sand Formation, Sandoval County, New Mexico ~24.8—20.6 Ma.
- Agate Springs Quarries, Sioux County, Nebraska ~23—5.3 Ma.
- Hemingford Quarry 12D, Runningwater Formation, Box Butte County, Nebraska ~20.6—16.3 Ma.
[edit] References
- ^ McLellan B. & Reiner D. C. (1994). "A review of bear evolution". Int. Conf. Bear Res. and Manage. 9(1): 85-89. PDF
- ^ R. L. Carroll. 1988. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York 1-698
- ^ X. Wang, M. C. McKenna, and D. Dashzeveg. 2005. Amphicticeps and Amphicynodon (Arctoidea, Carnivora) from Hsanda Gol Formation, Central Mongolia and phylogeny of basal arctoids with comments on zoogeography. American Museum Novitates 3483:1-57
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