Miocene burrows of extinct bear dogs; indication of early denning behavior of large mammalian carnivores
Hunt RM, Xiang-Xu X, Kaufman J. 1983. Miocene burrows of extinct bear dogs; indication of early denning behavior of large mammalian carnivores. Science. 221(4608):364-366
Partial skeletons of four species of extinct carnivores have been found in their dens excavated in the floodplain of an early Miocene ephemeral braided stream at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Nebraska. Bear dogs (Carnivora Amphicyonidae) were the principal occupants; their den dimensions and body size are similar to those of living wolves and hyenas. Discovery of this predator community extends the record of denning behavior of large mammalian carnivores to the early Miocene, 20 million years ago.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Hunt, Robert; Xiang-Xu, Xue; Kaufman, Joshua
- Units
- AGFO
- Keywords
- Amphicyonidae, Arikaree Group, Burrows, Carnivora, Dens, Fissipeda, Geology, Habitat, Harrison Formation, Mammalia, Midwest, Miocene, Nebraska, Neogene, Paleoecology, Paleontology, Sioux County, Skeletons, Sketch Map, Tertiary