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Borhyaena

Borhyaena
Temporal range: Early-Middle Miocene (Colhuehuapian-Friasian)
~21.0–15.5 Ma[1]
B. tuberata skull
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: †Sparassodonta
Family: †Borhyaenidae
Genus: †Borhyaena
Ameghino 1887
Species
  • B. macrodonta (Ameghino 1902)
  • B. tuberata (Ameghino 1887)
Synonyms
  • Conodonictis Ameghino 1891
  • Dinamictis Ameghino 1891
  • Pseudoborhyaena Ameghino 1902
Restoration of Theosodon garretorum and Borhyaena tuberata

Borhyaena is an extinct genus of South American metatherian, living between 17.5 and 15.5 million years ago in Patagonia, Argentina (Santa Cruz and Sarmiento Formations) and Chile (Río Frias Formation).[2]

Description

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Borhyaena was a predator and had a large head and a long, powerful neck similar to living hyenas. Its legs were cursorial, albeit less specialized than those of wolves or the marsupial thylacine. The most complete specimen is estimated to have weighted 23 kilograms (51 lb) and stood 50 centimetres (1.6 ft) at the shoulders.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Marshall, Larry G. (1978). Evolution of the Borhyaenidae, extinct South American predaceous marsupials. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences. Vol. 117. University of California Press. pp. 1–89. ISBN 9780520095717.
  2. ^ Borhyaena at Fossilworks.org
  3. ^ Argot, C. (2003). "Functional adaptations of the postcranial skeleton of two Miocene borhyaenoids (Mammalia, Metatheria), Borhyaena and Prothylacinus, from South America". Palaeontology. 46 (6): 1213–1267. Bibcode:2003Palgy..46.1213A. doi:10.1046/j.0031-0239.2003.00339.x.
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