Akhnatenavus
| Akhnatenavus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Placentalia |
| Order: | †Hyaenodonta |
| Family: | †Hyainailouridae |
| Subfamily: | †Hyainailourinae |
| Genus: | †Akhnatenavus Holroyd, 1999 |
| Type species | |
| Akhnatenavus leptognathus Osborn, 1909 | |
| Other species | |
|
Akhnatenavus nefertiticyon Borths et al., 2016 | |
Akhnatenavus is an extinct genus of hyainailourine hyaenodont that inhabited the continent of Afro-Arabia during the Priabonian and Rupelian stages of the Eocene and Oligocene epochs.[1]
Distribution
The species Akhnatenavus nefertiticyon is known from Quarry L-41 of the Jebel Qatrani Formation of Egypt, a fossil site dating to the terminus of the Priabonian stage.[2][3] The type species of the genus, Akhnatenavus leptognathus, is known from Quarry A, a highly fossiliferous site dating to the Early Oligocene stratigraphically located in the same geologic formation.[4]
Palaeobiology
Palaeoecology
The maxillary molars of A. nefertiticyon, characterised by a tall, piercing paracone, display an extreme specialisation for hypercarnivory, and this hyainailourid thus likely fed exclusively on meat.[2]
References
- 1 2 Borths, Matthew Robert; Holroyd, Patricia A.; Seiffert, Erik R. (10 November 2016). "Hyainailourine and teratodontine cranial material from the late Eocene of Egypt and the application of parsimony and Bayesian methods to the phylogeny and biogeography of Hyaenodonta (Placentalia, Mammalia)". PeerJ. 4 e2639. Bibcode:2016PeerJ...4e2639B. doi:10.7717/peerj.2639. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 5111901. PMID 27867761.