Ictitherium

Extinct genus of carnivores

Ictitherium
Temporal range: Middle Miocene–Early Pliocene
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Skeletal mount, Tianjin Natural History Museum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Hyaenidae
Subfamily: Ictitheriinae
Genus: Ictitherium
Species
  • I. viverrinum
  • I. syvalense
  • ?I. arambourgi
  • ?I. gaudryi
  • ?I. hipparionum
  • ?I. orbingyi
  • ?I. sinence
  • ?I. preforfex

Ictitherium (meaning "weasel beast") is an extinct genus belonging to the family Hyaenidae and the subfamily Ictitheriinae erected by Trouessart in 1897. Ictitherium species were endemic to Eurasia and Africa during the Middle Miocene through the Early Pliocene (12.7—5.3 mya) and existed approximately 7.4 million years.[1]

Description

I. viverrinum life restoration

Ictitherium were around 1.2 metres (4 ft) long, and looked more like civets than modern hyenas, possessing a long body with short legs and a possibly short tail. It is speculated that I. viverrinum ate plants as well as medium-small mammals and birds.[2] Ictitherium was a very successful and abundant genus, with multiple fossils often being found at a single site.[3] Possibly, this early hyena genus lived in packs and had a social order, much like its modern descendants.[citation needed]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ictitherium.
  1. ^ Paleobiology Database: Ictitherium basic info.
  2. ^ "Carnivoran Dietary Adaptations: A Multiproxy Study on the Feeding Ecology of the Fossil Carnivorans of Greece". 14 Feb 2021.
  3. ^ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 221. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
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Genera of civets, mongooses, hyenas, cats, and their extinct allies
Palaeogalidae
Nimravidae
Aeluroidea
Nandiniidae
Viverroidea
Viverridae
Genettinae
Hemigalinae
Paradoxurinae
Viverrinae
Herpestoidea
Herpestidae
    • See below↓
Hyaenidae
    • See below↓
Feloidea
    • See below↓
Eupleridae
Euplerinae
Galidiinae
Herpestidae
  • Kichechia
  • Legetetia
  • Leptoplesictis
  • Ugandictis
Herpestinae
Mungotinae
Percrocutidae?
Lophocyonidae
Hyaenidae
  • Allohyaena
  • Belbus
  • Metahyaena
  • Pliocrocuta
  • Tongxinictis
  • Werdelinus
Ictitheriinae
Protelinae
Hyaeninae
Barbourofelidae
  • (See Barbourofelidae)
Prionodontidae
Felidae
Proailurinae
Felinae
Machairodontinae
Pantherinae
Taxon identifiers
Ictitherium
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