Mammacyon

Mam-ma-sy-on.
Published on

Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Mammacyon ‭(‬Mammal dog‭)‬.

Phonetic

Mam-ma-sy-on.

Named By

Loomis‭ ‬-‭ ‬1936.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Carnivora,‭ ‬Caniformia,‭ ‬Amphicyonidae,‭ ‬Temnocyoninae.pe‭)‬.

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

M.‭ ‬obtusidens‭

Size

Estimated around‭ ‬39‭ ‬kilograms in weight.

Known locations

USA.

Time Period

Rupelian of the Oligocene through to the Aquitanian of the Miocene.

Fossil representation

Several specimens.

In Depth

       Mammacyon was a‭ ‘‬bear dog‭’ ‬that has been assigned to the Temnocyoninae,‭ ‬and not surprisingly is thought to have been considered to be similar to the group type genus Temnocyon.‭ ‬Mammacyon seems to have been active at the same time as Temnocyon as well as many of the same locations,‭ ‬although the current range of fossil deposits for Mammacyon suggests that it did not have the same broad distribution as Temnocyon.‭ ‬So far Mammacyon has only been found in Florida‭ (‬south east USA‭) ‬as well as Wyoming,‭ ‬Nebraska and South Dakota‭ (‬central north USA‭)‬.‭ ‬It’s quite reasonable that Mammacyon was also active between these areas at some point,‭ ‬but so far a lack of remains means that the full range of Mammacyon can only be speculated.

Further Reading

Further reading- Three new Miocene dogs and their phylogeny. – Journal of Paleontology 10(1):44-52. – F. B. Loomis – 1936.

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