Hemicyon

Hemicyon
Temporal range:
Hemicyon sansaniensis
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Subfamily: †Hemicyoninae
Genus: †Hemicyon
Lartet, 1851
Type species
†Hemicyon barbouri
Lartet, 1851
Other species
List of other species
  • †H. californicus
  • †H. cf. stehlini
  • †H. gargan
  • †H. goeriachensis
  • †H. hareni
  • †H. sansaniensis
  • †H. mayorali
  • †H. stehlini
  • †H. teilhardi
  • †H. ursinus
  • †H. youngi
For the ancient Greek mythological creatures, see Cynocephaly.

Hemicyon, also known as the "dog-bear" (literally "half dog", from Greek ἡμι- hēmi- (half) + κύων kúōn (dog)), is an extinct genus of hemicyonine bear, which probably originated in Eurasia but was found in Europe, Asia and North America during the Miocene epoch (15.97 to 12.75 million years ago), existing for approximately 16 to 13 mya. Hemicyon is the best-known genus in the Hemicyoninae, a subfamily intermediate between bears and their Caniform ancestors but most often classified as bears. Hemicyonid bears should not be confused with Amphicyonids (bear-dogs), which are their own separate family of carnivores.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.