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Promephitis

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Extinct genus of carnivores

Promephitis Temporal range:Miocene -Pliocene 9.3–4.9Ma

Skeleton ofPromephitis sp.,National Natural History Museum of China
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Mephitidae
Genus:	Promephitis Gaudry, 1861

Promephitis is an extinct genus ofmephitid, of which several species have been described from theMiocene and earlyPliocene ofEurope andAsia.

Characteristics

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*Promephitis* sp. skull fromCerro de los Batallones (Spain)

The fossil remains of thePromephitis species, like all members of the skunk family (Mephitidae), have a significant extension ofepitympanic recess, a chamber of themiddle ear, into the region ofmastoid andsquamous parts of thetemporal bones. This extension is recognizable as an inflated bulge on the lateral wall of theskull over the mastoid.^[1] In addition, skunks have specific characteristics of the teeth, especially the molars, which distinguish them from othercarnivora. The genusPromephitis also shows a distinctive structure of thepremolar tooth P4 as well as a very small P2, through which they are distinguishable from other genera.^[2]

Distribution and temporal classification

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Species ofPromephitis ranged widely inEurasia, and fossils have been found both in Europe and in Asia. They are classified in the lateTertiary, occurring in the middle to late Miocene and early Pliocene epochs less than 10 million years ago.^[2]

Taxonomy

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The genus and thetype speciesPromephitis larteti were described in 1861 byJean Albert Gaudry from a fossil found atPikermi inGreece. Since the initial description up to 10 species have been named, but some have since been discarded. Early finds consisted mainly of teeth or fragments of jaw bones. In 2004 Wang & Qiu reported numerous well-preserved skull and skeleton finds from China and described two new species. Currently the following eleven species are recognised:^[2]

Skunks

†Palaeomephitis

	†Promephitis

	Stink badgers (Mydaus)

other Mephitidae

Promephitis larteti Gaudry 1861
P. maeotica Alexjew 1916
P. alexjewi Schlosser 1924
P. malustensis Simionescu 1930
P. majori Pilgrim 1933
P. hootoni Senyurek 1954
P. pristinidens Petter 1963
P. brevirostris Meladze 1967
P. maxima He and Huang 1991
P. qinensis Wang and Qiu 2004
P. parvus Wang and Qiu 2004

Within the skunks, the species of the genusPromephitis have been likened to the two extant species ofstink badger (Mydaus) from Southeast Asia.^[3] Taken together,Promephitis and the stink badgers are probably the sister group of the fossil species Palaeomephitis steinheimensis,^[3] the name applied to the oldest known species of skunks.^[1] Within the recent genera, the stink badgers represent the earliest genus; the clade comprising them withPromephitis andPalaeomephitis is considered to be a sister group to all other skunks living today and other fossil forms.^[3]

References

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^^a ^bMieczysław Wolsan (1999)."Oldest mephitine cranium and its implications for the origin of skunks"(PDF).Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.44 (2):223–230.
^^a ^b ^cXiaoming Wang; Zhanxiang Qiu (2004). "Late MiocenePromephitis (Carnivora, Mephitidae) from China".Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.24 (3):721–731.doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2004)024[0721:LMPCMF]2.0.CO;2.S2CID 21714530.
^^a ^b ^cMikko Haaramo (7 October 2007)."Mustelidae: Mephitinae". Mikko’s Phylogeny Archive.Archived from the original on 2017-01-14. Retrieved12 November 2017.

Genera ofred pandas,raccoons,skunks,mustelids and their extinct allies

Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Carnivora

Musteloidea

†Peignictis
†Plesiogale

Ailuridae

Ailurinae	Ailurus †Magerictis †Parailurus †Pristinailurus
†Amphictinae	Amphictis
†Simocyoninae	Actiocyon Alopecocyon Protursus Simocyon

Mephitidae

Procyonidae

Mustelidae

†Acheronictis †Aragonictis †Arikarictis †Circamustela †Erokomellivora †Franconictis †Kenyalutra †Kinometaxia †Laphyctis †Luogale †Marcetia †Matanomictis †Melidellavus †Mellalictis †Mesomephitis †Miomustela †Namibictis †Oaxacagale †Palaeomeles †Paragale †Parataxidea †Perunium †Plesictis †Plesiogale †Plesiomeles †Prepoecilogale †Presictis †Promellivora †Proputorius †Pyctis †Sabadellictis †Semantor †Sinictis †Sivalictis †Skopelogale †Sonitictis †Taxodon †Trochotherium †Xenictis †Zorilla
Guloninae	†Canimartes Eira †Ferinestrix Gulo †Iberictis †Ischyrictis Martes Pekania †Plesiogulo †Plionictis †Sthenictis
Helictidinae	Melogale
Ictonychinae	†Baranogale †Brevimalictis †Cernictis †Eirictis †Enhydrictis Galictis Ictonyx †Lutravus Lyncodon †Martellictis †Negodiaetictis †Oriensictis †Pannonictis †Poecilictis Poecilogale †Sminthosinis †Stipanicicia †Trigonictis †Trochictis Vormela
Lutrinae	†Algarolutra Aonyx †Cyrnaonyx †Cyrnolutra †Djourabus Enhydra †Enhydriodon †Enhydritherium Hydrictis †Limnonyx Lontra Lutra †Lutraeximia †Lutrictis Lutrogale †Megalenhydris †Megencephalon †Melodon †Mionictis †Nesolutra †Paludolutra †Paralutra †Pelycictis Pteronura †Sardolutra †Satherium †Siamogale †Sivaonyx †Teruelictis †Torolutra †Tyrrhenolutra †Vishnuonyx
†Leptarctinae	Craterogale Leptarctus Trocharion
Melinae	†Arctomeles Arctonyx Meles †Promeles
Mellivorinae	†Ekorus †Eomellivora †Hoplictis Mellivora †Moralesictis
†Mustelavinae	Mustelavus
Mustelinae	†Dinogale †Lartetictis †Legionarictis Mustela Neogale †Tisisthenes
†Oligobuninae	Brachypsalis Corumictis Floridictis Megalictis Oligobunis Parabrachypsalis Paroligobunis Promartes Zodiolestes
Taxidiinae	†Chamitataxus †Pliotaxidea Taxidea

Taxon identifiers
Promephitis	Wikidata:Q1328566 EoL:4443068 GBIF:4833768 IRMNG:1018686 Open Tree of Life:3612777 Paleobiology Database:41162 ZooBank:E47472EE-FBAC-4EE9-B3BC-C174CBD325BC

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