Enhydritherium terraenovae
Encyclopedia
Enhydritherium terraenovae is an extinct giant otter
endemic to North America
which lived during the Miocene
through Pliocene
epochs from ~9.1—4.9 Ma. (AEO
), existing for approximately .
The ancestral lineage of Enhydritherium terraenova can be traced to Africa
and Eurasia
, but no clear route of migration can be determined according to Thompson et al.
Enhydritherium terraenovae is an extinct giant otter
endemic to North America
which lived during the Miocene
through Pliocene
epochs from ~9.1—4.9 Ma. (AEO
),Alroy, John
, PaleoDB collection 19461: authorized by J. Alroy, entered by J. Alroy on August 5, 1996 existing for approximately .
The ancestral lineage of Enhydritherium terraenova can be traced to Africa
and Eurasia
, but no clear route of migration can be determined according to Thompson et al.
Enhydritherium terraenovae is an extinct giant otter
endemic to North America
which lived during the Miocene
through Pliocene
epochs from ~9.1—4.9 Ma. (AEO
),Alroy, John
, PaleoDB collection 19461: authorized by J. Alroy, entered by J. Alroy on August 5, 1996 existing for approximately .
The ancestral lineage of Enhydritherium terraenova can be traced to Africa
and Eurasia
, but no clear route of migration can be determined according to Thompson et al.Feldhamer, George A., Thompson, Bruce C., Chapman. Joseph A. Wild mammals of North America: biology, management, and conservation, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. ISBN 0801874165
marginal marine sandstone in the Upper Bone Valley Formation of Florida.
(3 sites) and Florida
(8 sites).
and Claudia Roth. 1988. Correlation of carnassial tooth size and body weight in recent carnivores (Mammalia). Historical Biology 1(1):85-98
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
endemic to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
which lived during the Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
through Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
epochs from ~9.1—4.9 Ma. (AEO
Appearance Event Ordination
Appearance Event Ordination or AEO is a scientific method for biochronology through the ordering of the appearance of fossil mammal genera by multivariate analysis, using conjunctional and disconjunctional range distributions in large sets of data.-Process:AEO is based on faunal overlap and...
), existing for approximately .
The ancestral lineage of Enhydritherium terraenova can be traced to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
, but no clear route of migration can be determined according to Thompson et al.
Enhydritherium terraenovae is an extinct giant otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
endemic to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
which lived during the Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
through Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
epochs from ~9.1—4.9 Ma. (AEO
Appearance Event Ordination
Appearance Event Ordination or AEO is a scientific method for biochronology through the ordering of the appearance of fossil mammal genera by multivariate analysis, using conjunctional and disconjunctional range distributions in large sets of data.-Process:AEO is based on faunal overlap and...
),Alroy, John
John Alroy
John Alroy is a paleobiologist born in New York in 1966 and now residing in Sydney.-Area of expertise:Alroy specializes in diversity curves, speciation, and extinction of North American fossil mammals and Phanerozoic marine invertebrates, connecting regional and local diversity, taxonomic...
, PaleoDB collection 19461: authorized by J. Alroy, entered by J. Alroy on August 5, 1996 existing for approximately .
The ancestral lineage of Enhydritherium terraenova can be traced to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
, but no clear route of migration can be determined according to Thompson et al.
Enhydritherium terraenovae is an extinct giant otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
endemic to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
which lived during the Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
through Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
epochs from ~9.1—4.9 Ma. (AEO
Appearance Event Ordination
Appearance Event Ordination or AEO is a scientific method for biochronology through the ordering of the appearance of fossil mammal genera by multivariate analysis, using conjunctional and disconjunctional range distributions in large sets of data.-Process:AEO is based on faunal overlap and...
),Alroy, John
John Alroy
John Alroy is a paleobiologist born in New York in 1966 and now residing in Sydney.-Area of expertise:Alroy specializes in diversity curves, speciation, and extinction of North American fossil mammals and Phanerozoic marine invertebrates, connecting regional and local diversity, taxonomic...
, PaleoDB collection 19461: authorized by J. Alroy, entered by J. Alroy on August 5, 1996 existing for approximately .
The ancestral lineage of Enhydritherium terraenova can be traced to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
, but no clear route of migration can be determined according to Thompson et al.Feldhamer, George A., Thompson, Bruce C., Chapman. Joseph A. Wild mammals of North America: biology, management, and conservation, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. ISBN 0801874165
Taxonomy
Enhydritherium terraenovae was named by Berta and Morgan in 1985A. Berta and G. S. Morgan. 1985. A new sea otter (Carnivora: Mustelidae) from the late Miocene and early Pliocene (Hemphillian) of North America. Journal of Paleontology 59(4):809-819. and is the genotype for this animal. Its type locality is the phosphate Palmetto Mine in Florida, which is in a HemphillianHemphillian
The Hemphillian North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology , typically set from 10,300,000 to 4,900,000 years BP, a period of . It is usually considered to overlap the Tortonian epoch of the Late...
marginal marine sandstone in the Upper Bone Valley Formation of Florida.
Fossil distribution
Fossil specimens were found from in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
(3 sites) and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
(8 sites).
Morphology
Body mass for Enhydritherium terraenovae was estimted by Legendre and Roth (1988).Serge LegendreSerge Legendre
Serge Legendre is a research scientist in the field of paleobiology with the Institute of Paleoenvironment & Paleobiosphere, University of Lyonand Editor-in-Chief of Geobios, a scientific journal published bi-monthly.-Publications:...
and Claudia Roth. 1988. Correlation of carnassial tooth size and body weight in recent carnivores (Mammalia). Historical Biology 1(1):85-98