Herpestides

Herpestides is an extinct genus of terrestrial carnivore that was endemic to North Africa and Southern Europe during the Early Miocene subepoch (22.4—20 mya) and existed for approximately 2.4 million years.[1]

Herpestides
Temporal range: Early Miocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Superfamily: Aeluroidea
Genus: †Herpestides
de Beaumont, 1967
Species
  • H. aegypticus
  • H. aequatorialis
  • H. antiquus
  • H. compactus

Taxonomy

Herpestides was named by de Beaumont (1967). It is not extant. It was assigned to Aeluroidea by Hunt (1989); and to Viverridae by Flynn (1998) and Morlo et al. (2007).[2]

Species

H. aegypticus, H. aequatorialis, H. antiquus, H. compactus

Sister genera

Africanictis, Anictis, Asiavorator, Haplogale, Mioprionodon, Moghradictis, Nandinia, Palaeoprionodon, Proailurus, Shandgolictis, Stenogale, Stenoplesictis.

Resources
  1. PaleoBiology Database: Herpestides, basic info
  2. R. M. Hunt. 1989. Evolution of the aeluroid Carnivora: significance of the ventral promontorial process of the petrosal, and the origin of basicranial patterns in the living families. American Museum Novitates


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