Microtomarctus
Extinct genus of carnivores
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Microtomarctus is an extinct monospecific genus of the Borophaginae subfamily of canids native to North America. It lived during the Early to Middle Miocene,[1] and existed for approximately 7 million years. Fossil specimens have been found in Nebraska, coastal southeast Texas, California, New Mexico, Nevada, and Colorado. It was an intermediate-size canid, and more predaceous than earlier borophagines.[2]
| Microtomarctus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| Replica of lower jaw at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Subfamily: | †Borophaginae |
| Tribe: | †Borophagini |
| Genus: | †Microtomarctus Wang et al., 1999 |
| Species: | †M. confertus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Microtomarctus confertus Matthew, 1918 | |
Like some other borophagines it had powerful, bone-crushing jaws and teeth.[citation needed]