Miacidae
| Miacidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| skull of Miacis parvivorus | |
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| skeleton of Vulpavus ovatus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Clade: | Carnivoraformes |
| Family: | †Miacidae Cope, 1880 |
| Type genus | |
| †Miacis Cope, 1872 | |
| Genera | |
|
[see classification] | |
| Synonyms | |
|
list of synonyms:
| |
Miacidae ("small points")[citation needed] is a former paraphyletic family of extinct primitive placental mammals that lived in North America, Europe and Asia during the Paleocene and Eocene epochs, about 65–33.9 million years ago. These mammals were basal to order Carnivora, the crown-group within the Carnivoraformes.
Miacids are thought to have evolved into the modern carnivorous mammals of the order Carnivora. They were small carnivores, superficially weasel-like or ferret-like.
They probably fed on invertebrates, lizards, birds, and smaller mammals like shrews and opossums. Their teeth and skulls show that the miacids were less developed than modern carnivorans.
Classification
History of classification
The species Miacis australis are classified in the family Amphicyonidae within Caniformia.
Later authorities disagreed, and propose that the viverravids arose in North America 66-60 million years ago, spread to Asia then later to Europe, and were the first carnivorans and possessed the first true pair of carnassial teeth.: p8
It has been proposed that miacids arose in North America and Europe 60-50 million years ago then later spread to Asia. Like the earlier viverravids, they possessed a true pair of carnassial teeth and therefore are related to order Carnivora. They also possessed a full set of cheek teeth, were weasel-to-small-fox-sized, and lived in forests. All modern carnivorans arose from them.: p9
Taxonomy
- Family: †Miacidae (Cope, 1880)
- Genus: †Chailicyon (Chow, 1975)
- Genus: †Eogale (Beard & Dawson, 2009)
- Genus: †Gracilocyon (Smith & Smith, 2010)
- Genus: †Harpalodon (Marsh, 1872)
- Genus: †Lycarion (Matthew, 1909)
- Genus: †Messelogale (Springhorn, 2000)
- Genus: †Miacis (Cope, 1872)
- Genus: †Miocyon (Matthew, 1909)
- Genus: †Neovulpavus (Wortman, 1901)
- Genus: †Oodectes (Wortman, 1901)
- Genus: †Palaearctonyx (Matthew, 1909)
- Genus: †Paramiacis (Mathis, 1985)
- Genus: †Paroodectes (Springhorn, 1980)
- Genus: †Procynodictis (Wortman & Matthew, 1899)
- Genus: †Prodaphaenus (Wortman & Matthew, 1899)
- Genus: †Quercygale (Kretzoi, 1945)
- Genus: †Simamphicyon (Viret, 1942)
- Genus: †Tapocyon (Stock, 1934)
- Genus: †Uintacyon (Leidy, 1872)
- Genus: †Vassacyon (Matthew, 1909)
- Genus: †Vulpavus (Marsh, 1871)
- Genus: †Xinyuictis (Zheng, 1975)
- Genus: †Zodiocyon (Tong & Wang, 2006)
Phylogeny
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References
- ↑ E. D. Cope (1880.) "On the genera of the Creodonta." Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 19:76-82
- ↑ W. D. Matthew (1909) "The Carnivora and Insectivora of the Bridger Basin, middle Eocene." Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History 9:289-567
- ↑ Haeckel, Ernst (1895). Systematische Phylogenie: Wirbelthiere (in German). Vol. T.3. Berlin: G. Reimer.
- ↑ Trouessart, E. L. (1885) "Note sur le classification des Analgésiens et diagnoses d'espèces et de genres nouveaux." Bulletin de la Société d'études scientifiques d'Angers, 14, 46–89. [Publ. February, 1885. for year 1884.]
- ↑ Kalandadze, N. N. and S. A. Rautian (1992.) "Systema mlekopitayushchikh i istorygeskaya zoogeographei [The system of mammals and historical zoogeography]." Sbornik Trudov Zoologicheskogo Muzeya Moskovskogo Goschdarstvennoro Universiteta 29:44–152.
- ↑ Tielhard de Chardin, P. (1915) "Les carnassiers des phosphorites du Quercy" Annales de Paléontologie, 9, 101–192
- ↑ Miklos Kretzoi (1945) "Bemerkungen über das Raubtiersystem." Annales Historico-Naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici, Budapest, vol. 38, pp. 59-83.
- ↑ O. P. Hay (1902.) "Bibliography and Catalogue of the Fossil Vertebrata of North America." Bulletin of the United States Geological Survey 179:1-868
- ↑ McKenna, Malcolm C.; Bell, Susan K. (1997). Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-11012-9. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ↑ 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. Volume 1: Terrestrial Carnivores, Ungulates, and Ungulatelike Mammals." Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ISBN 9780521355193
- ↑ "Miacidae in the Paleobiology Database". Fossilworks. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- ↑ IRMNG (2018). Miacidae Cope, 1880 †. Accessed at: http://www.irmng.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=102911 on 2019-01-22
- ↑ Cost, Ian N. (2013-10-02). "Extinct Animal of the Week: Before Things Got Dire". Extinct Animal of the Week. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
- 1 2 Wang, X.; Tedford, R. H. (2008). Dogs: Their Fossil Relatives and Evolutionary History. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-13529-0. OCLC 822229250.
- ↑ "Miacis | extinct mammal genus". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
- ↑ "The Cat Survival Trust". www.catsurvivaltrust.org. Archived from the original on July 3, 2011. Retrieved 2019-02-18.