| Oligobunis Temporal range:Miocene | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Mustelidae |
| Subfamily: | †Oligobuninae |
| Genus: | †Oligobunis Cope, 1881 |
| Species | |
Oligobunis is anextinctgenus ofmustelids, which existed during theMiocene epoch.
The genus was first described byE. D. Cope in 1881. Cope assigned the genus to the familyMustelidae, and J. A. Baskin assigned it to the subfamilyOligobuninae in 1998. Two species have been identified in the genus:O. crassivultus andO. floridanus.[1] Three more -O. gemmarosae,O. lepidus, andO. vantasselensis - were later assigned to the genusPromartes.[2]O. floridanus was a medium-sized badger type mustelid carnivore that filled the niche of small cats during the "cat gap" of the early to middle Miocene in North America. Its fossils have been discovered in Florida, Nebraska, and Oregon.