Leptocyon

Leptocyon
Temporal range: Chattian- Tortonian 24.8–10.3 Ma
Drawing of the holotype skull of Leptocyon gregorii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Carnivora
Family:Canidae
Subfamily:Caninae
Genus:†Leptocyon
Matthew, 1918
Species
  • †L. gregorii
  • †L. vafer
  • †L. vulpinus
Fossil range of Leptocyon species

Leptocyon (Greek: slender dog[1]) is a small extinct genus of canid endemic to North America during the Oligocene through Miocene living from 24.8—10.3 million years ago, existing for about 14.5 million years.[2]

Leptocyon was a small-bodied, fox-like animal with a slender jaw.[3]

Taxonomy

Leptocyon was named by Matthew (1918). It was synonymized subjectively with Vulpes by Gregory (1942); it was revalidated by Webb (1969), Carroll (1988), and Munthe (1998). It was assigned to the Canidae by Matthew (1918), Webb (1969), Carroll (1988), and Munthe (1998).[4][5]

Morphology

Body mass

Two specimens were examined by Legendre and Roth. Estimated body mass of these two was 3.26 kg (7.2 lb)[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Leptocyon". About.com. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  2. ↑ PaleoBiology Database: Leptocyon, basic info
  3. ↑ Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America: Terrestrial animals of North America Volume 1, Terrestrial Carnivores, Ungulates, and Ungulate like Mammals. Christine M. Janis carnivores. Louis L. Jacobs, Kathleen Marie Scott.
  4. ↑ J. T. Gregory. 1942. University of California Publications, Bulletin of the Department of Geological Sciences 26(4)
  5. ↑ S. D. Webb. 1969. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences 78
  6. ↑ S. Legendre and C. Roth. 1988. Correlation of carnassial tooth size and body weight in recent carnivores (Mammalia). Historical Biology 1(1):85-98


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