Andrewsarchus

Andrewsarchus
Temporal range: Middle Eocene
Holotype skull of Andrewsarchus mongoliensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Clade: Cetancodontamorpha
Family: †Andrewsarchidae
Szalay & Gould, 1966[2]
Genus: †Andrewsarchus
Osborn, 1924[1]
Type species
†Andrewsarchus mongoliensis
Osborn, 1924
Other species
  • †Andrewsarchus crassum
    Ding, Zheng, Zhang, & Tong, 1977[3]
Synonyms
Genus synonymy
Species synonymy
  • A. mongoliensis
      • Paratriisodon henanensis
        Chow, 1959[5]
      • Paratriisodon gigas
        Chow, Li, & Chang, 1973[6]

Andrewsarchus (/ˌændruːˈsɑːrkəs/), meaning "Andrews' ruler", is an extinct genus of artiodactyl (even-toed ungulate) that lived during the Middle Eocene in China. It contains two species, A. mongoliensis and A. crassum. It was formerly placed in the families Mesonychidae or Arctocyonidae, but is now the sole member of a distinct family, Andrewsarchidae, and may have been a distant relative of entelodonts.[7] Known from a largely complete skull, most of a lower jaw and isolated teeth, it is notable for being historically reputed as the largest terrestrial, carnivorous mammal.[1]

  1. ^ a b Osborn, H.F. (1924). "Andrewsarchus, giant mesonychid of Mongolia". American Museum Novitates (146): 1–5. hdl:2246/3226.
  2. ^ Szalay, F.S.; Gould, S.J. (1966). "Asiatic Mesonychidae (Mammalia, Condylartha)". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 132 (2): 127–174. hdl:2246/1112.
  3. ^ Ding, S.; Zheng, J.; Zhang, Y.; Tong, Y. (1977). "The age and characteristic of the Liuniu and the Dongjun faunas, Bose Basin of Guangxi" (PDF). Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 15 (1): 35–45.
  4. ^ Chow, M.M. (1959). "A new arctocyonid from the Upper Eocene of Lushih, Honan" (PDF). Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 3 (3): 133–138.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference O'Leary 1998 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Chow, M.M.; Li, C.; Chang, Y. (1973). "Late Eocene mammalian faunas of Honan and Shansi with notes on some vertebrate fossils collected therefrom" (PDF). Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 11 (2): 165–181.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Yu et al. 2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).