Huracan is an extinct genus of agriotheriin ailuropodine from the Neogene period. Fossils were found from North America and Eastern Asia. Unlike its modern relative the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), which is a bamboo specialist, Huracan was a hypercarnivorous genus of bear that had adaptations for cursoriality.
| Huracan Temporal range:
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Ursidae |
| Tribe: | †Agriotheriini |
| Genus: | †Huracan Jiangzuo et al., 2023 |
| Type species | |
| †Agriotherium schneideri Sellards, 1916
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| Species[1] | |
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History edit
Specimens of Huracan were originally classified as species of the related genus Agriotherium. Hunt (1998) had noted differences in the structure of the carnassials between Agriotherium schneideri and Old World species of said genus, but lots of similarities between A. schneideri and genus Indarctos.[2] This was further supported in the 2019 publication of A. hendeyi which led the authors of the study to do a comprehensive analysis of agriotheriin specimens to assess their taxonomy.[3][1]
Systematics edit
When Jiangzuo et al. (2023) computed the phylogenetic analysis, they found Indarctos to be paraphyletic to the clade containing the genera Huracan and Agriotherium.[1]
Species edit
Huracan schneideri edit
The genotype species, H. schneideri was formally described by Sellards in 1916 from fossil material collected from the Upper Bony Valley, Hardee and Polk counties, Florida, a typical Latest Hemphillian. The main holotype was a mandible (USNM 8838) but additional material of this species has since been collected from this locality and other locations from the southern United States and parts of Mexico. Differs from other species in the genus of shorter and smaller premolars and molars.[1]
H. coffeyi edit
H. coffeyi was described by Dalquest, 1986 on a holotype (MWSU 12147) found from Coffee Ranch in Texas. The holotype specimen is a partial mandible preserving some molar teeth. All specimens of the species were originally classified as those of Agriotherium schneideri, though H. coffeyi differs from H. schneideri in having much larger and longer premolars and molars.[1]
H. qiui edit
H. qiui is a new species described by Jiangzuo et al. (2023). The holotype (HMV 2005) is a nearly complete skull from the Wangjiashan fossil locality. This species differs from H. coffeyi and H. schneideri in not being as hypercarnivorous with more developed anterior premolars and the first and second molars longer. The skull is also much narrower in this species.[1]
Other possible species edit
Two species of agriotheriin bears, A. roblesi and I. punjabensis might belong to Huracan as well based on overall similarities of their molars. In the case of I. punjabensis is sister to the Agriotherium–Huracan clade.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g Jiangzuo, Q.; Flynn, J. J.; Wang, S.; Hou, S.; Deng, T. (2023). "New fossil giant panda relatives (Ailuropodinae, Ursidae): a basal lineage of gigantic Mio-Pliocene cursorial carnivores". American Museum Novitates (3996): 1–71. doi:10.1206/3996.1. hdl:2246/7315. S2CID 257508340.
- ^ Hunt, Robert M. Jr. (1998). "Ursidae, pp. 174–195 (180)". In Janis, C. M.; Scott, K. M.; Jacobs, L. L. (eds.). Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America: Terrestrial carnivores, ungulates, and ungulatelike mammals. Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521355193. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- ^ Qigao Jiangzuo; John J. Flynn (2020). "A new species of Agriotherium from North America, and implications for understanding transformations in the metaconid-entoconid complex of bears". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 27 (4): 775–787. doi:10.1007/s10914-019-09480-x. S2CID 201064589.