Tephrocyon is an extinct genus of the Borophaginae subfamily of canids native to North America. They lived during the Barstovian stage of the Middle Miocene 16.3—13.6 million years ago, existing for roughly 2.7 million years.[1] It is a rarely found genus,[citation needed] with fossil deposits only occurring in western Nebraska, Wyoming, eastern Oregon, New Mexico, and north Florida. It was an intermediate-sized canid, and more predatory than earlier borophagines.[2]

Tephrocyon
Temporal range: Middle Miocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Subfamily: Borophaginae
Tribe: Borophagini
Genus: Tephrocyon
Merriam, 1906
Species
  • T. rurestris, Condon 1896
  • T. scitulus, Hay 1924

References edit

  1. ^ PaleoBiology Database: Tephrocyon Taxonomy, Species
  2. ^ Wang, Xiaoming; Tedford, Richard H. (2008). Dogs, Their Fossil Relatives and Evolutionary History. Columbia. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-231-13528-3.

Further reading edit

  • The Biology and Conservation of Wild Canids by David W. Macdonald and Claudio Sillero-Zubiri; page 42 ISBN 0-19-851556-1