Borophagus

Borophagus ("devouring glutton") is an extinct genus of the subfamily Borophaginae, a group of canids loosely known as "bone-crushing" or "hyena-like" dogs. Borophagus is the type genus. Though not the biggest borophagine, it had a more highly-evolved capacity to crunch bone than earlier, larger genera such as Epicyon, which seems to be an evolutionary trend of the group (Turner, 2004). Like all borophagines, Borophagus was endemic native to North America. The genus first appeared in the Miocene, and survived until the late Pliocene, when more typical dogs, such as the dire wolf, displaced it. Early species of Borophagus were placed in the genus Osteoborus until recently, but the genera are now considered synonyms.

Typical features of this genus are a bulging forehead and powerful jaws; it was probably a scavenger. Its crushing premolar teeth and strong jaw muscles would have been used to crack open bone, much like the hyena of the Old World. The adult animal is estimated to have been about 80 cm in length, similar to a coyote, although it was much more powerfully built.

Borophagus is one of the best-known borophagines. Borophagus probably led a hyena-like lifestyle, like hyenas, it often scavenged, using its keen senses to find carcasses of recently dead animals. Borophagus roamed the plains of North America for 7 million years.

See also

• Borophaginae

References:

• Alan Turner, "National Geographic: Prehistoric Mammals" (Washington, D.C.: Firecrest Books Ltd., 2004), pp. 112-114. ISBN 0-7922-7134-3
• Xiaoming Wang, "The Origin and Evolution of the Dog Family" Accessed 1/30/06.

Further reading

• Picture of an Osteoborus skull in a museum, from "World of the Wolf." (Accessed 6/19/06)
• Russell Hunt, "Ecological Polarities Of the North American Family Canidae: A New Approach to Understanding Forty Million Years of Canid Evolution" (Accessed 1/30/06)
• Wang et al., "Phylogenetic Systematics of the Borophaginae (Carnivora:Canidae)." Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, No. 243, Nov. 17 1999. (PDF) (Accessed 4/11/06)