Ysengrinia Temporal range: Late Oligocene to Early Miocene ~
| |
---|---|
Ysengrinia americana skull at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Family: | †Amphicyonidae |
Subfamily: | †Thaumastocyoninae |
Genus: | †Ysengrinia Ginsburg (1965) |
Type species | |
Pseudocyon gerandianus Viret, 1929
| |
Other species | |
|
Ysengrinia is an extinct genus of carnivoran in the family Amphicyonidae, that lived during the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene. Fossil remains have been discovered in Western Europe, the United States and possibly China. The European species are among the earliest known members of the Thaumastocyoninae, a group of aberrant amphicyonids showcasing hypercarnivorous adations, but are only known from fragmentary remains. The American species is much better preserved and shows a robust, black-bear sized predator. These fossils play an important role in our understanding of the biotic interchange between Eurasia and North America during the earliest Miocene. However, more recent research suggests that the genus might be polyphyletic, and that several of its species should be excluded from Ysengrinia.