The wolverine, also called the carcajou or quickhatch, is the largest land-dwelling member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The wolverine has a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size, with the documented ability to kill prey many times larger than itself.
Balaenoptera is a genus of rorquals containing eight extant species. Balaenoptera comprises all but two of the extant species in its family ; the genus is currently polyphyletic, with the two aforementioned species being phylogenetically nested within it.
Urocyon is a genus of Canidae which includes the gray fox and the island fox. These two fox species are found in the Western Hemisphere. Whole genome sequencing indicates that Urocyon is the most basal genus of the living canids. Fossils of what is believed to be the ancestor of the gray fox, Urocyon progressus, have been found in Kansas and date to the Upper Pliocene, with some undescribed specimens dating even older.
A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus Martes within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on the species; it is valued by animal trappers for the fur trade. Martens are slender, agile animals, which are adapted to living in the taiga, and inhabit coniferous and northern deciduous forests across the Northern Hemisphere.
Elephas is one of two surviving genera in the family of elephants, Elephantidae, with one surviving species, the Asian elephant, Elephas maximus. Several extinct species have been identified as belonging to the genus, extending back to the Pliocene or possibly the late Miocene.
The South American foxes (Lycalopex), commonly called raposa in Portuguese, or zorro in Spanish, are a genus from South America of the subfamily Caninae. Despite their name, they are not true foxes, but are a unique canid genus more closely related to wolves and jackals than to true foxes; some of them resemble foxes due to convergent evolution. The South American gray fox, Lycalopex griseus, is the most common species, and is known for its large ears and a highly marketable, russet-fringed pelt.
Pedetes is a genus of rodent, the springhares, in the family Pedetidae. Members of the genus are distributed across southern and Eastern Africa.
Lontra is a genus of otters from the Americas.
Desmans are aquatic insectivores of the tribe Desmanini in the mole family, Talpidae.
Hystrix is a genus of porcupines containing most of the Old World porcupines. Fossils belonging to the genus date back to the late Miocene of Africa.
Desmana is a genus of mole that contains a single living species, the Russian desman (Desmana moschata). A number of fossil species are known from throughout Eurasia.
Galemys is a genus of mole containing the living Pyrenean desman (Galemys pyrenaicus) and several fossil species.
The Gray Fossil Site is an Early Pliocene assemblage of fossils dating between 4.5 and 4.9 million years old, located near the community of Gray in Washington County, Tennessee. The site was discovered during road construction on Tennessee State Route 75 by the Tennessee Department of Transportation in May 2000, after which local officials decided to preserve the site for research and education. The site became part of East Tennessee State University, and the Gray Fossil Site & Museum was opened on the site in 2007.
Procavia is a genus of hyraxes. The rock hyrax (P. capensis) is currently the only extant species belonging to this genus, though other species were recognized in the past, including P. habessinica and P. ruficeps, both now relegated to subspecific rank.
Guloninae is a subfamily of the mammal family Mustelidae distributed across Eurasia and the Americas. It includes martens and the fisher, tayra and wolverine. These genera were formerly included within a paraphyletic definition of the mustelid subfamily Mustelinae.
Ontocetus is an extinct genus of walrus, an aquatic carnivoran of the family Odobenidae, endemic to coastal regions of the southern North Sea and the southeastern coastal regions of the U.S. during the Miocene-Pleistocene. It lived from 13.6 mya—300,000 years ago, existing for approximately 13.3 million years.
Hypolagus is an extinct genus of lagomorph, first recorded in the Hemingfordian of North America. It entered Asia during the early Turolian and spread to Europe not much later, where it survived until the Middle Pleistocene. Though unknown in the Iberian Peninsula, fossils of this genus have been found in the Balearic Islands, suggesting an eastern migration during the dry period in the Mediterranean region known as the Messinian Salinity Crisis.
Plesiogulo is a genus of prehistoric carnivore that lived from Miocene to Pliocene of Africa, Eurasia and North America. An ancestral relationship to the wolverine was once suggested, but it is no longer considered likely. However, some authorities still consider it a member of the Guloninae.
Pekania is a genus of mustelid that contains a single living species, the fisher (Pekania pennanti). Formerly placed in the genus Martes, it was determined to be distinct enough to be placed within its own genus. A 2013 study also identified several fossil species formerly in Martes that are more closely related – and probably ancestral – to the fisher, moving them into Pekania as well.
Neolicaphrium is an extinct genus of ungulate mammal belonging to the extinct order Litopterna. This animal lived from the Late Pliocene (Chapadmalalan) to the Late Pleistocene (Lujanian) in southern South America, being the last survivor of the family Proterotheriidae.
