Pogonodon

Pogonodon
Temporal range: Early-Late Oligocene, (Whitneyan to Arikareean) 32.0–25.9 Ma
Skull of P. platycopis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: †Nimravidae
Subfamily: †Nimravinae
Genus: †Pogonodon
Cope, 1880
Type species
†Pogonodon platycopis
(Cope, 1879)
Species
  • P. davisi Merriam, 1906
  • P. platycopis (Cope, 1879) (type)
Synonyms
  • Hoplophoneus platycopis Cope, 1879
  • Pogonodon cismontanus Thorpe, 1920
  • Pogonodon serrulidens Eaton, 1922
  • Dinictis eileenae Macdonald, 1970

Pogonodon is an extinct genus of cat-like nimravid endemic to North America during the Oligocene from 32.0 to 25.9 Ma. Including supplementary materials The genus the consists of two species P. davisi and P. platycopis. Pogonodon was the last nimravine to go extinct in North America, possibly due to competition with amphicyonids and expansion of grasslands. Its extinction marked the beginning of the cat gap, a 7 million year period without any cat-like predators in North America.

Nimravids wouldn’t reappear in North America until the arrival of barbourofelines, Albanosmilus whitfordi and Barbourofelis.

Description

Pogonodon was have been similar in size to jaguars. Humerus measurements suggest P. platycopis had a humeral robustness greater than other nimravids, despite having shorter sabers than Hoplophoneus.

Extinction

Life restoration

Pogonodon was the last nimravine to go extinct in North America. During the Early Oligocene, nimravids began to decline globally due to the increase in aridity, which saw an expansion of open environments. Pogonodon was able to persist longer than other North American nimravids due to its relative cursoriality. However, it likely wasn't able to compete withe amphicyonids due their cursoriality and more generalized dentition compared to nimravids. The extinction of last nimravids such as Pogonodon started the cat gap, a 7 million year period with no cat-predators in North America, which ended upon the arrival of the true cat, Pseudaelurus.

Nimravids wouldn't reappear in North America until the appearance of barbourofelines, Albanosmilus whitfordi and Barbourofelis, around 12 Ma.

References

  1. ↑ Malcolm C. McKenna, Susan K. Bell: Classification of Mammals: Above the Species Level Columbia University Press, New York 1997, 631 Seiten, ISBN 0-231-11013-8
  2. ↑ Barrett, Paul Zachary (26 October 2021). "The largest hoplophonine and a complex new hypothesis of nimravid evolution". Scientific Reports. 11 (1) 21078. Bibcode:2021NatSR..1121078B. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-00521-1. PMC 8548586. PMID 34702935. S2CID 240000358.
  3. ↑ Barrett, P.Z. (2016). "Taxonomic and systematic revisions to the North American Nimravidae (Mammalia, Carnivora)". PeerJ. 4 e1658. Bibcode:2016PeerJ...4e1658B. doi:10.7717/peerj.1658. PMC 4756750. PMID 26893959.
  4. 1 2 3 Castellanos, Miguel (2025). "Hunting types in North American Eocene–Oligocene carnivores and implications for the 'cat-gap'". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 32 (2) 25: 1–12. doi:10.1007/s10914-025-09767-2.
  5. 1 2 Tseng, Z. Jack; Takeuchi, Gary T.; Wang, Xiaoming (January 2010). "Discovery of the Upper Dentitle of Barbourofelis whitfordi (Nimravidae, Carnivora) and an Evaluation of the Genus in California". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (1): 244–254. Bibcode:2010JVPal..30..244T. doi:10.1080/02724630903416001.
  6. ↑ Martin, Larry D. (1998). "Nimravidae". Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America. Volume 1: Terrestrial Carnivores, Ungulates, and Ungulatelike Mammals. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-35519-2.
  7. ↑ Meachen, J. A. (2012). "Morphological convergence of the prey-killing arsenal of sabertooth predators". Paleobiology. 38 (1): 1–14. doi:10.1666/10036.1. JSTOR 41432156.
  8. ↑ Solé, Floréal; Fischer, Valentin; Le Verger, Kévin; Mennecart, Bastien; Speijer, Robert P.; Peigné, Stéphane; Smith, Thierry (2022). "Evolution of European carnivorous mammal assemblages through the Paleogene". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 135 (4): 734–753. doi:10.1093/biolinnean/blac002.
  9. 1 2 Antón, Mauricio (2013). Sabertooth. Bloomington, Indiana: University of Indiana Press. p. 219-220. ISBN 978-0-253-01042-1.
  10. ↑ Chabrol, Nils; Morlon, Hélène; Barido-Sottani, Joëlle (July 2025). "The Fossilized Birth Death Process with heterogeneous diversification rates unravels the link between diversification and specialisation to a carnivorous diet in Nimravidae (Carnivoraformes)". pp. 1–26. bioRxiv 10.1101/2025.07.15.664897.
  11. ↑ Hunt, Robert M. (2003). "Intercontinental Migration of Large Mammalian Carnivores: Earliest Occurrence of the Old World Beardog Amphicyon (Carnivora, Amphicyonidae) in North America". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 279: 77. doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2003)279<0077:C>2.0.CO;2.
  12. ↑ Tedford, R. H.; Galusha, T.; Skinner, M. F.; Taylor, B. E.; Fields, R. W.; Macdonald, J. R.; Rensberger, J. M.; Webb, S. D.; Whistler, D.P. (1987). "Faunal succession and biochronology of the Arikareean through Hemphillian interval (late Oligocene through earliest Pliocene epochs) in North America". In Woodburne, M. O. (ed.). Cenozoic mammals of North America: Geochronology and biostratigraphy. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 153–210. ISBN 0-520-05392-3.
  13. ↑ Rothwell, Tom (2003). "Phylogenetic systematics of North American Pseudaelurus (Carnivora: Felidae)" (PDF). American Museum Novitates (3403): 1–64. doi:10.1206/0003-0082(2003)403<0001:psonap>2.0.co;2. hdl:2246/2829. ISSN 0003-0082. S2CID 67753626.
  14. ↑ Michael Morlo (2006). "New remains of Barbourofelidae from the Miocene of Southern Germany: implications for the history of barbourid migrations". Beiträge zur Paläontologie, Wien. 30: 339–346.