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1 December 2009 The last amphicyonid (Mammalia, Carnivora) in Africa
Lars Werdelin, Scott W. Simpson
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Abstract

Amphicyonidae are a common element of carnivoran faunas in the early and middle Miocene of Eurasia and North America, but by the Messinian they had become extinct there, except possibly on the Indian subcontinent. In Africa, amphicyonids are poorly known from a scattering of records from the late Oligocene to the late Miocene. In this paper, we describe the last-surviving amphicyonid in Africa, from Messinian-age sediments (dated c. 6.5–5.3 Ma) of Ethiopia (Gona) and Kenya (Lothagam and possibly Lemudong'o). This new taxon shows unique adaptations to hypercarnivory in the lower molars and was small for an amphicyonid, dentally about the size of a coyote, Canis latrans.

© Publications Scientifiques du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris.
Lars Werdelin and Scott W. Simpson "The last amphicyonid (Mammalia, Carnivora) in Africa," Geodiversitas 31(4), 775-787, (1 December 2009). https://doi.org/10.5252/g2009n4a775
Received: 8 December 2008; Accepted: 1 June 2009; Published: 1 December 2009
JOURNAL ARTICLE
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KEYWORDS
Africa
Afrique
Amphicyonidae
Carnivora
espèce nouvelle
Ethiopia
Éthiopie
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