Chasmaporthetes

Chasmaporthetes
Temporal range: Pliocene–Early Pleistocene
C. progressus skeleton at Hezheng Paleozoological Museum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Hyaenidae
Subfamily: Hyaeninae
Genus: †Chasmaporthetes
Hay, 1921
Species

See text

Synonyms
  • Ailuriaena johnstoni Stirton & Christian, 1940
  • Euryboas

Chasmaporthetes, also known as hunting or running hyena, is an extinct genus of hyenas distributed in Eurasia, North America, and Africa during the Pliocene-Pleistocene epochs, living from 4.9 million to 780,000 years ago, existing for about 4.12 million years.

The genus probably arose from Eurasian Miocene hyenas such as Thalassictis or Lycyaena, with C. borissiaki being the oldest known representative. The species C. ossifragus was the only hyena to cross the Bering land bridge into the Americas, and ranged over what is now Arizona and Mexico during Blancan and early Irvingtonian Land Mammal ages, between 5.0 and 1.5 million years ago.

Chasmaporthetes was one of the so-called "dog-like" hyenas (of which the aardwolf is the only survivor), a hyaenid group which, in contrast to the now more common "bone-crushing" hyenas, evolved into slender-limbed, cursorial hunters like modern canids.

Taxonomy and etymology

Chasmaporthetes was named (from chasm and the Greek πορθευτής (portheutes), "destroyer, ravager") by Hay (1921), who noted that the name meant that the North American species, Chasmaporthetes ossifragus (the type species) possibly saw the beginning of the Grand Canyon.

Species

Fossil jaw of C. ossifragus, the only American species (FLMNH)

At least nine species are currently recognised:

  • Chasmaporthetes ossifragus Hay, 1921 - North America, Pliocene to Pleistocene
  • C. australis Hendey, 1974 - Africa, Late Miocene
  • C. bonisi Koufos, 1987 - Greece, Late Miocene
  • C. borissiaki Khomenko, 1932 - Russia, Pliocene (disputed)
  • C. exitelus Kurtén & Werdelin, 1988 - China, Late Miocene
  • C. gangsriensis Tseng, Li, & Wang, 2013 - Asia, Early Pliocene
  • C. lunensis Del Campana, 1914 - Eurasia, Late Miocene to Early Pleistocene
  • C. melei Rook et al, 2004 - Sardinia, Early Pleistocene
  • C. nitidula Geraads, 1997 - Africa, Pliocene to Early Pleistocene

Palaeobiology

Anatomy

The limb bones of Chasmaporthetes were long and slender like those of cheetahs. The cheek teeth were slender and sharp-edged like those of felids. It likely inhabited open ground and was a daytime hunter. C. ossifragus is estimated at 99 kilograms (218 lb) in weight.

Diet

C. progressus skull, National Natural History Museum of China

Relative to the body size of the species, the skull of C. lunensis was superbly adapted for dissipating stresses generated by struggling prey. The European C. lunensis is regarded as an active group hunter of medium-sized ungulates. It may have preyed on the small Bourbon gazelle (Gazella borbonica) and the chamois antelope (Procamptoceras brivatense). The North American C. ossifragus was similar in build to C. lunensis, but had slightly more robust jaws and teeth. It may have preyed on the giant marmot Paenemarmota.

A study on the genus' premolar intercuspid notches indicated Chasmaporthetes was likely hypercarnivorous rather than durophagous as its modern cousins (excluding the aardwolf) are. The microstructure of the enamel of C. lunensis lunensis consists of more gently folding enamel than that found in bone-crushing hyaenids, further supporting the notion that it was not a specialist osteophage. Dental microwear of C. australis from Langebaanweg in South Africa shows that the species was hypercarnivorous and rarely engaged in durophagy; its dental microwear was similar to the modern lion, which seldom consumes bone.

Competition

An Early Pleistocene skull of C. lunensis from Spain displays bite marks most likely inflicted by a conspecific, although these bite marks may have also been left by a Pliocrocuta or a felid. In Europe, C. lunensis also competed with Acinonyx pardinensis, the giant cheetah. In North America, C. ossifragus competed with the far more numerous Borophagus diversidens.

References

  1. ↑ O. P. Hay. 1921. Descriptions of species of Pleistocene Vertebrata, types or specimens of most of which are preserved in the United States National Museum. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 59:599-642
  2. ↑ D. Geraads. 1997. Carnivores du Pliocene terminal de Ahl al Oughlam (Casablanca, Maroc). Géobios 30(1):127-164
  3. ↑ J. J. Flynn. 1998. Early Cenozoic Carnivora ("Miacoidea"). In C. M. Janis, K. M. Scott, and L. L. Jacobs (eds.), Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America 1:110-123
  4. 1 2 3 Macdonald, David (1992) The Velvet Claw: A Natural History of the Carnivores, p. 119-144, New York: Parkwest, ISBN 0-563-20844-9
  5. ↑ "PaleoBiology Database: Chasmaporthetes, basic info". Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  6. 1 2 3 Kurtén, Björn (1980) Pleistocene mammals of North America, p. 199, Columbia University Press, 1980, ISBN 0-231-03733-3
  7. 1 2 Tseng, Zhijie Jack; et al. (2013). "A new cursorial hyena from Tibet, and analysis of biostratigraphy, paleozoogeography, and dental morphology of Chasmaporthetes (Carnivora, Mammalia)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 33 (6): 1457–1471. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.775142. S2CID 131282725.
  8. ↑ Pérez-Claros, J. A.; Coca-Ortega, C.; Werdelin, Lars (May 2021). "How many hyenas in North America? A quantitative perspective". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 41 (3) e1979988. Bibcode:2021JVPal..41E9988P. doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.1979988. S2CID 244614066.
  9. 1 2 Rook, Lorenzo; Ferretti, M. P.; et al. (2004). "Chasmaporthetes melei n. sp. an endemic hyaenid (Carnivora, Mammalia) from the Monte Tuttavista fissure fillings (Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene; Sardinia, Italy)". Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia. 110: 707–714. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 Kurtén, Björn (1968) Pleistocene mammals of Europe, p. 68-69, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968
  11. ↑ Juhn, Mark S.; Balisi, Mairin A.; Doughty, Evan M.; Friscia, Anthony R.; Howenstine, Aidan O.; Jacquemetton, Christiane; Marcot, Jonathan; Nugen, Sarah; Valkenburgh, Blaire Van (2024). "Cenozoic climate change and the evolution of North American mammalian predator ecomorphology". Paleobiology. 50 (3): 452–461. Bibcode:2024Pbio...50..452J. doi:10.1017/pab.2024.27. ISSN 0094-8373.
  12. ↑ Tseng, Zhijie Jack; Antón, Mauricio; Salesa, Manuel J. (Winter 2011). "The evolution of the bone-cracking model in carnivorans: cranial functional morphology of the Plio-Pleistocene cursorial hyaenid Chasmaporthetes lunensis (Mammalia: Carnivora)". Paleobiology. 37 (1): 140–156. Bibcode:2011Pbio...37..140T. doi:10.1666/09045.1. ISSN 0094-8373. Retrieved 7 March 2026 – via Cambridge Core.
  13. ↑ Salesa, Manuel J. (1 January 2006). "A complete skull of Chasmaporthetes lunensis (Carnivora, Hyaenidae) from the Spanish Pliocene site of La Puebla de Valverde (Teruel)". Academia. 62 (1): 375–388. Bibcode:2006EstGM..62..375A. doi:10.3989/EGEOL.0662132. hdl:10261/22443.
  14. ↑ Hartstone-Rose, A. (25 May 2011). "Reconstructing the diets of extinct South African carnivorans, from premolar 'intercuspid notch' morphology". Journal of Zoology. 285 (2): 119–127. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2011.00821.x. ISSN 1469-7998. Retrieved 10 April 2025 – via Zoological Society of London.
  15. ↑ Ferretti, Marco P. (13 December 1999). "Tooth enamel structure in the hyaenid Chasmaporthetes lunensis lunensis from the Late Pliocene of Italy, with implications for feeding behavior". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 19 (4): 767–770. Bibcode:1999JVPal..19..767F. doi:10.1080/02724634.1999.10011189. ISSN 0272-4634. Retrieved 12 January 2026 – via Taylor and Francis Online.
  16. ↑ Stynder, Deano D.; Ungar, Peter Stuart; Scott, Jessica Renee; Schubert, Blaine W. (1 September 2012). "A Dental Microwear Texture Analysis of the Mio-Pliocene Hyaenids from Langebaanweg, South Africa". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 57 (3): 485–496. Bibcode:2012AcPaP..57..485S. doi:10.4202/app.2011.0053. ISSN 0567-7920.
  17. ↑ Kargopoulos, Nikolaos; Vinuesa, Víctor; Robles, Josep; Valenciano, Alberto; Demiguel, Daniel; Morales, Jorge; Alba, David M. (4 May 2026). "Signs of intraspecific aggression in fossil hyenas: cranial bite punctures in Adcrocuta eximia and Chasmaporthetes lunensis". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 46 (3) e2676114. Bibcode:2026JVPal..4676114K. doi:10.1080/02724634.2026.2676114. ISSN 0272-4634. Retrieved 25 September 2026 – via Taylor and Francis Online.
  18. ↑ Wang, Xiaoming & Tedford, Richard H. (2008) Dogs: their fossil relatives and evolutionary history Columbia University Press, ISBN 0-231-13528-9