Protursus
Extinct genus of ailurid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Protursus is a fossil genus of ailurid with a single species Protursus simpsoni, known from a single left m2 tooth.[1]
| Protursus Temporal range: Late Miocene | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Ailuridae |
| Subfamily: | †Simocyoninae |
| Genus: | †Protursus Crusafont and Kurtén, 1976 |
| Type species | |
| †Protursus simpsoni Crusafont and Kurtén, 1976 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Taxonomy & Evolution
Protursus simpsoni was believed to be an ursid (bear) closely related to Ursavus by its original describers. In 1977, Thenius lumped the species into the genus Simocyon as Simocyon simpsoni, but this was rejected in 2005, instead being split back into Protursus, though as a member of the subfamily Simocyoninae.[2][3][4]
