Bear dog

Amphicyonidae
Temporal range: 42–2.6 Ma Middle Eocene – Late Pliocene
Skeleton of Amphicyon
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Caniformia
Family: †Amphicyonidae
Haeckel, 1886
Subfamilies

†Amphicyoninae
†Daphoeninae
†Temnocyoninae

The Amphicyonidae or bear dogs, is an extinct family of large terrestrial carnivores.

They belonged to the dog-like suborder Caniformia. It had a wide distribution in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. They lived from the Eocene epoch to the Pleistocene epoch 46.2 – 1.8 million years ago (mya), for a total of about 44.4 million years or from the Paleocene to the Quaternary period.[1]

Originally they evolved in the Old World, but crossed over to the Americas during the Miocene epoch. This would happen at a time when crossing was possible via the Bering Strait.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Paleobiology Database: Amphicyonidae, age range and collections". Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2014-04-26.
  2. ↑ Hunt, Robert M, Jr. 2003. Intercontinental migration of large mammalian carnivores: earliest occurrence of the Old World beardog Amphicyon (Carnivora, Amphicyonidae) in North America. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 279, 77-115