Six species were known, the most famous being Mylohyus nasutus, also known as the long-nosed peccary. It went extinct at the end of the Rancholabrean North American Land Mammal Age.[1]:21 The genus was slightly larger-bodied than any modern peccaries, with an estimated mass of 68kg (150lb).[2]
Isotope and anatomical studies have suggested that the diet of Mylohyus varied over geological time, from being primarily a C3browser during the Blancan, with an increasing consumption of C4 vegetation during the Irvingtonian, with a relatively even mixture of C3 and C4 during the Rancholabrean. Suggestions have been made that it was frugivorous and also consumed hard browse like twigs.[3]Mylohyus was able to coexist with close phylogenetic relatives because of efficient niche partitioning between it and other genera of peccaries.[4]
Description
The long-nosed peccary was about 0.75 metres (2.5ft) in height and 67 kilograms (148lb) in weight.[5] It had an elongated face, long, thin legs and dewclaws.[1]:21
Habitat and distribution
During the last glacial, long-nosed peccaries, sensu lato, were distributed throughout southeastern North America with concentrations in Appalachia and Florida. Most fossil localities containing this species are found in the southern and south-eastern U.S., from west Texas to Florida, and north to Pennsylvania. Mylohyus nasutus, if considered to be a different species than M. fossilis, occupied the western part of this range, but their classification as separate species is disputed.[1]:22–23 According to Lundelius, these species or forms co-occur in the Cumberland Cave deposits in Maryland.[6]:34
Ecology and behavior
Unlike the flat-headed peccary, Platygonus compressus, the long-nosed peccary was probably a solitary animal and did not frequent caves.[7]
↑ Mendoza, M.; Janis, C. M.; Palmqvist, P. (2006). "Estimating the body mass of extinct ungulates: a study on the use of multiple regression". Journal of Zoology. 270 (1): 90–101. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00094.x.
Peccaries are pig-like ungulates of the family Tayassuidae. They are found throughout Central and South America, Trinidad in the Caribbean, and in the southwestern area of North America. Peccaries usually measure between 90 and 130 cm in length, and a full-grown adult usually weighs about 20 to 40 kg. They represent the closest relatives of the family Suidae, which contains pigs and relatives. Together Tayassuidae and Suidae are grouped in the suborder Suina within the order Artiodactyla.
Homotherium is an extinct genus of scimitar-toothed cat belonging to the extinct subfamily Machairodontinae that inhabited North America, Eurasia, and Africa during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs from around 4 million to 12,000 years ago. It was one of the last surviving members of the subfamily alongside the more famous sabertooth Smilodon, to which it was not particularly closely related. It was a large cat, comparable in size to a lion, functioning as an apex predator in the ecosystems it inhabited. In comparison to Smilodon, the canines of Homotherium were shorter, and it is suggested to have had a different ecology from Smilodon as a pursuit predator adapted to running down large prey in open habitats, with Homotherium also proposed to have likely engaged in cooperative hunting.
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Camelops is an extinct genus of camel that lived in North and Central America from the middle Pliocene to the end of the Pleistocene. It is more closely related to living camels than to lamines, making it a true camel of the Camelini tribe. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek κάμηλος and ὄψ, i.e. "camel-face". Camelops lived across western North America, ranging from the Pacific Coast to the Great Plains, southwards to Honduras and northwards to Alaska. Camelops became extinct as part of the end-Pleistocene extinction event along with most large mammals across the Americas. The extinctions followed the arrival of humans to the Americas, and evidence has been found indicating that humans butchered Camelops, suggesting that hunting may have been a factor in its extinction.
The collared peccary is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Tayassuidae found in North, Central, and South America. It is the only member of the genus Dicotyles. They are commonly referred to as javelina, saíno, taitetu, or báquiro, although these terms are also used to describe other species in the family. The species is also known as the musk hog. In Trinidad, it is colloquially known as quenk.
Platygonus is an extinct genus of herbivorous peccaries of the family Tayassuidae, endemic to North and South America from the Miocene through Pleistocene epochs, existing for about 10.289 million years. P. compressus stood 2.5 feet tall.
Bison latifrons, also known as the giant bison or long-horned bison, is an extinct species of bison that lived in North America during the Late Pleistocene epoch ranging from southern Canada to Mexico. It is noted for its large body size and its distinctive long horns.
Armbruster's wolf is an extinct species that was endemic to North America and lived during the Irvingtonian stage of the Pleistocene epoch, spanning from 1.9 Mya—250,000 years BP. It is notable because it is proposed as the ancestor of one of the most famous prehistoric carnivores in North America, the dire wolf, which replaced it.
Zygomaturus is an extinct genus of giant marsupial belonging to the family Diprotodontidae which inhabited Australia from the Late Miocene to Late Pleistocene.
Tremarctos floridanus is an extinct species of bear in the family Ursidae, subfamily Tremarctinae. T. floridanus became extinct at the end of the last ice age, 11,000 years ago. Its fossils have been found throughout the Southeastern United States, in northeastern Mexico, and in Belize from the Rancholabrean epoch, and from earlier epochs at some sites in western North America.
Arctodus is an extinct genus of short-faced bear that inhabited North America during the Pleistocene. There are two recognized species: the lesser short-faced bear and the giant short-faced bear. Of these species, A. simus was larger, is known from more complete remains, and is considered one of the best known members of North America's extinct Ice Age megafauna. A. pristinus was largely restricted to the Early Pleistocene of the eastern United States, whereas A. simus had a broader range, with most finds being from the Late Pleistocene of the United States, Mexico and Canada. A. simus evolved from A. pristinus, but both species likely overlapped in the Middle Pleistocene. Both species are relatively rare in the fossil record.
Catonyx is an extinct genus of ground sloth of the family Scelidotheriidae, endemic to South America during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs. It lived from 2.5 Ma to about 10,000 years ago, existing for approximately 2.49 million years. The most recent date obtained is about 9600 B.P.
Canis edwardii, also known as Edward's wolf, is an extinct species of wolf in the genus Canis which was endemic to North America three million years ago from the Late Blancan stage of the Pliocene epoch and was extinct by the end of the Irvingtonian stage of the Pleistocene epoch.
The Haile Quarry or Haile sites are an Early Miocene and Pleistocene assemblage of vertebrate fossils located in the Haile quarries, Alachua County, northern Florida. The assemblage was discovered during phosphate mining, which began in the late 1940s. Haile sites are found in the Alachua Formation. Two sites within the Ocala Limestone yielded Upper Eocene Valvatida and mollusks.
The Orange County paleontological sites are assemblages of Late Pleistocene vertebrates occurring in Orange County, Florida.
Platygonus compressus, the flat-headed peccary, is an extinct mammal species from the Tayassuidae family that lived in North and South America during the Pleistocene. It was first described in 1848 by John L. Leconte.
Valgipes is an extinct genus of scelidotheriid ground sloth, endemic to intertropical Brazil and Uruguay during the Late Pleistocene. Thought to have been a forest-dwelling browser, Valgipes is a monotypic genus with a complex and long taxonomic history, and is a close relative of Catonyx and Proscelidodon.
Catagonus stenocephalus is an extinct species of peccary that lived in South America during the Late Pleistocene. Fossils have been found in Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia. It is commonly known as the narrow-headed peccary due to its long and markedly convex rostrum.
Prosthennops is a genus of extinct peccaries that lived in North and Central America between the middle Miocene and lower Pliocene.
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