| Aelurodon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| A. stirtoni skeleton,National Museum of Natural History | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Subfamily: | †Borophaginae |
| Tribe: | †Borophagini |
| Subtribe: | †Aelurodontina |
| Genus: | †Aelurodon Leidy, 1858 |
| Type species | |
| †Aelurodon ferox | |
| Species[1][2] | |
| |
| Synonyms | |
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Aelurodon is an extinctcanidgenus of the subfamilyBorophaginae which lived from theBarstovian land mammal age (16 mya) of the middleMiocene to thelate Mioceneepoch (5.332 mya).[2][3]Aelurodon existed for approximately10.7 million years.
%2c_Aelurodon_taxoides_(middle)%2c_Tomarctus_brevirostris_(bottom)_(cropped).jpg)
Aelurodon are a part of aclade ofcanids loosely known as "bone-crushing" or "hyena-like" dogs, that apparently descended from the earlier generaProtomarctus andTomarctus.[2] Several species are known from fossils found in the central and western U.S., suggesting a wide geographic range during their peak in theMiocene epoch.[4][2] Large species ofAelurodon (A. ferox andA. taxoides) may have hunted in packs like modernwolves.[5]
The evolution ofAelurodon is characterized by the progressive development of teeth adapted to a morehypercarnivorous diet, a trend consistent with other borophagines.[2] The earliest occurrence of the genus isA. asthenostylus dating from 16–14 Ma. This species then gives rise to two differentanagenetic clades around 15 Ma. One comprises the speciesA. montaneis,A. mcgrewi andA. stirtoni, going extinct around 12 Ma. The other clade persists until5.3 Ma and includesA. ferox andA. taxoides.A. taxoides is the most derived and largest species inAelurodon.[1][2]
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