Aelurodon

Aelurodon ("cat tooth") is an extinct genus of the subfamily Borophaginae. Part of a clade of canids loosely known as "bone-crushing" or "hyena-like" dogs, Aelurodon apparently descended from the earlier genera Protomarctus and Tomarctus. Several species are known from fossils found in the central and western U.S., suggesting a wide geographic range during their peak in the Miocene epoch. Large species of Aelurodon (A. ferox and A. taxoides) may have hunted in packs like living wolves.

Species

Six species of Aelurodon are recognized. Aelurodon asthenostylus was the earliest occurring species and it was probably a direct descendant of Tomarctus (specifically T. brevirostris). A. asthenostylus was itself the likely ancestor of all other Aelurodon species, which can be divided into two evolutionary lineages. Over time, members of one lineage (A. ferox → A. taxoides) became larger, while members of the second lineage became progressively smaller (A. montanensis → A. stirtoni → A. mcgrewi). Additionally, the smaller lineage evolved teeth adapted to a more purely carnivorous (hypercarnivorous) diet, a trend consistent with other borophagines. Some specimens of the largest species, Aelurodon taxoides, reached the size of a tiger.

See also

• Borophagus

References: