Authors
Michelle Spaulding, John J Flynn
Publication date
2009/12/12
Journal
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
Volume
29
Issue
4
Pages
1212-1223
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Group
Description
This paper provides the first detailed description of the only known postcranial skeletal elements of “Miacisuintensis. The morphology of the skeleton differs markedly from previously described “miacids” (a paraphyletic assemblage of early fossil carnivoramorphans), invalidating the notion that all “miacids” were very similar in their postcranial morphology and locomotor styles. The majority of the differences indicate an animal less well adapted to an arboreal lifestyle than has been inferred for other early “miacid” carnivoramorphans. A phylogenetic analysis clearly nests “Miacisuintensis within the paraphyletic array of taxa previously referred to as the “Miacidae,” in a position closer to the crown clade Carnivora than is Vulpavus, a “miacid” whose postcranium has been previously described. When compared with the early canid Hesperocyon, this specimen shares many features thought to relate to the …
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