Plithocyon
Extinct genus of bears
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Plithocyon is an extinct genus of hemicyonine bear of the Miocene epoch, endemic to North America and Europe. It lived from ~15.97—11.61 Ma, existing for approximately 4 million years.
| Plithocyon Temporal range: | |
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| Plithocyon armagnacensis skull at the Gallery of Paleontology and Comparative Anatomy, Paris. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Ursidae |
| Subfamily: | †Hemicyoninae |
| Genus: | †Plithocyon Ginsburg, 1955 |
| Species | |
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see text | |
Fossil distribution
Sites and age of some specimens:
- Hemicyon Quarry, Barstow Formation, San Bernardino County, California ~13.7—11.6 Ma.
- Ruby River Basin No.5, Madison County, Montana ~23—5.3 Ma.
- Pasalar site, Bursa, Turkey ~16—13.7 Ma.
- Pontigne site, France ~11.6—7.2 Ma.
Species
- Plithocyon antunesi Ginsburg & Morales, 1998
- Plithocyon armagnacensis Ginsburg, 1955
- Plithocyon barstowensis Frick, 1926
- Plithocyon bruneti Ginsburg, 1980
- Plithocyon conquense Ginsberg
- Plithocyon ursinus Cope, 1875
