Patriofelis Temporal range: Eocene (Bridgerian) Early-mid | |
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Patriofelis ferox skeleton in storage at the American Museum of Natural History | |
Reconstruction of Patriofelis ferox | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | † Oxyaenodonta |
Family: | † Oxyaenidae |
Subfamily: | † Oxyaeninae |
Genus: | † Patriofelis Leidy, 1872 |
Type species | |
†Patriofelis ulta Leidy, 1870 | |
Species | |
Synonyms [3] | |
synonyms of genus:
synonyms of species:
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Patriofelis ("father of cats") is an extinct genus of carnivorous placental mammals from the extinct subfamily Oxyaeninae within the extinct family Oxyaenidae. It was a large cat-like predator which lived in North America during the Bridgerian NALMA (part of the early-middle Eocene, 50.3-46.2 Ma). Fossils have been found in Wyoming, Colorado, and Oregon. [8]
Patriofelis could reach around 1.2 to 1.8 metres (3.9 to 5.9 ft) long, not including the tail. The type species Patriofelis ulta is most common in the lower Bridger Formation in the Bridger Basin of southwestern Wyoming. It has also been found in the Huerfano Formation of Colorado. Patriofelis ulta was a smaller species, weighing about 30 kilograms (66 lb). [8]
A second species, Patriofelis ferox, was originally known as Limnofelis. It was much larger than Patriofelis ulta, up to 100 kilograms (220 lb), close to the size of a large jaguar. It is most common in the Bridger Basin as well, both the lower Bridger and lower Washakie formations. Fossils of this species also occur in the Clarno Formation at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Oregon.
Patriofelis had a broad short-snouted skull, short legs with broad plantigrade feet, and a relatively long tail. The teeth were very thick relative to other oxyaenids, similar to hyenas in some regards. [9] [8]
J.L. Wortman (1894, 1902) suggested that Patriofelis may have been a semiaquatic otter-like predator specialized for hunting turtles, while H.F. Osborn (1900) argued that it was an arboreal generalist with cat-like behavior. W.D. Matthew (1909) disagreed with both ideas, as its short limbs and blunt claws would have made it more suited for hunting on the ground.
Two partial skeletons of Patriofelis ulta collected in the 1950s were redescribed by Kort et al. (2022). [8] They found that it had a unique interlocking spinal column which made the backbone very stiff, unlike modern carnivorans and more similar to armadillos and artiodactyls (even-toed ungulates). [8] These interlocking structures (known as revolute zygapophyses) gave its backbone a range of motion similar to that of a sheep. As Patriofelis was an early experiment in large body size among carnivorous mammals, stiffening features would have been an interim strategy in the tradeoffs between torso stabilization and body size. [10]
The neck was muscular and the head was held in a high posture. The limbs, though short, were very robust and flexible. The limb proportions and inflexible spine are completely inconsistent with a semiaquatic or arboreal lifestyle. Instead it was probably a terrestrial ambush predator, adapted to navigate through thick brush and grapple prey with its strong forelimbs. [8]
Creodonta is a former order of extinct carnivorous placental mammals that lived from the early Paleocene to the late Miocene epochs in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Originally thought to be a single group of animals ancestral to the modern Carnivora, this order is now usually considered a polyphyletic assemblage of two different groups, the oxyaenids and the hyaenodontids, not a natural group. Oxyaenids are first known from the Palaeocene of North America, while hyaenodonts hail from the Palaeocene of Africa.
Oxyaenidae is a family of extinct carnivorous placental mammals. Traditionally classified in order Creodonta, this group is now classified in its own order Oxyaenodonta within clade Pan-Carnivora in mirorder Ferae. The group contains four subfamilies comprising fourteen genera. Oxyaenids were the first to appear during the late Paleocene in North America, while smaller radiations of oxyaenids in Europe and Asia occurred during the Eocene.
Miacis is an extinct genus of placental mammals from clade Carnivoraformes, that lived in North America from the early to middle Eocene.
Oxyaena is an extinct genus of placental mammals from extinct subfamily Oxyaeninae within extinct family Oxyaenidae, that lived in Europe, Asia and North America during the early Eocene.
Paroodectes is an extinct genus of placental mammals from clade Carnivoraformes, that lived in Europe during the middle Eocene.
Miacoidea is a former paraphyletic superfamily of extinct placental mammals that lived during the Paleocene and Eocene epochs, about 66-33,9 million years ago. This group had been traditionally divided into two families of primitive carnivorous mammals: Miacidae and Viverravidae. These mammals were basal to order Carnivora, the crown-group within the Carnivoramorpha.
Vulpavus is an extinct paraphyletic genus of placental mammals from clade Carnivoraformes, that lived in North America from the early to middle Eocene.
Miocyon is an extinct genus of placental mammals from clade Carnivoraformes, that lived in North America from the early to late Eocene.
Oodectes is an extinct paraphyletic genus of placental mammals from clade Carnivoraformes, that lived in North America from the early to middle Eocene.
Vassacyon is an extinct genus of placental mammals from clade Carnivoraformes, that lived in North America and Europe from the late Paleocene to early Eocene. It is considered the largest of the early Eocene mammals.
Tritemnodon was an extinct genus of placental mammals from extinct order Hyaenodonta, that lived in North America during the early Eocene. Fossils of Tritemnodon agilis have been found in Utah and Wyoming. It was the size of a wolf.
Dawsonicyon is an extinct genus of placental mammals from clade Carnivoraformes, that lived in North America from the early to middle Eocene. Fossils of type species Dawsonicyon isami are known from the ‘Bridger B’, site of Black’s Fork member of the Bridger Formation in Wyoming, and includes an almost complete skeleton.
Sinopa is an extinct genus of placental mammals from extinct family Sinopidae within extinct order Hyaenodonta, that lived in North America and Asia from the early to middle Eocene.
The Washakie Formation is a geologic formation in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming. It preserves many mammal, bird, reptile and other fossils dating back to the Lutetian stage of the Eocene within the Paleogene period. The sediments fall in the Bridgerian and Uintan stages of the NALMA classification.
The Bridger Formation is a geologic formation in southwestern Wyoming. It preserves fossils dating back to the Bridgerian and Uintan stages of the Paleogene Period. The formation was named by American geologist Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden for Fort Bridger, which had itself been named for mountain man Jim Bridger. The Bridger Wilderness covers much of the Bridger Formation's area.
Limnocyon is an extinct paraphyletic genus of limnocyonid hyaenodonts that lived in North America during the middle Eocene. Fossils of this animal have been found in California, Utah and Wyoming.
Viverravus is an extinct genus of placental mammals from extinct subfamily Viverravinae within extinct family Viverravidae, that lived in North America, Europe and Asia from the middle Paleocene to middle Eocene.
Protictis is an extinct paraphyletic genus of placental mammals from extinct subfamily Didymictinae within extinct family Viverravidae, that lived in North America from early Paleocene to middle Eocene.
Oxyaeninae is an extinct subfamily of placental mammals from extinct family Oxyaenidae, that lived in Asia, North America and Europe from the late Paleocene to middle Eocene.
Palaeonictinae is an extinct subfamily of placental mammals from extinct family Oxyaenidae, that lived from the late Paleocene to early Eocene of Europe and North America.