Epicyon is a large extinct canid

Canidae

Canidae is the biological family of carnivorous and omnivorous mammals that includes wolves, foxes, jackals, coyotes, and domestic dogs. A member of this family is called a canid . The Canidae family is divided into two tribes: Canini and Vulpini...

 genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of the subfamily Borophaginae

Borophaginae

The subfamily Borophaginae is an extinct group of canids called "bone crushing dogs" that were endemic to North America during the Oligocene to Pliocene and lived roughly 36—2.5 million years ago and existing for approximately .-Origin:...

 ("bone-crushing dogs"), native 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...

. It lived from the Hemingfordian age of the Early Miocene

Early Miocene

The Early Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages....

 to the Hemphillian

Hemphillian

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...

 of the Late Miocene

Late Miocene

The Late Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch....

 (20.6—5.330 Mya. Epicyon existed for about .

Epicyon was one of the last of the Borophaginae and shared its North American habitat with other canids: Borophagus

Borophagus

Borophagus is an extinct genus of the subfamily Borophaginae, a group of canids endemic to North America from the early Miocene epoch through the Zanclean stage of the Pliocene epoch 23.3—3.6 Mya. Borophagus existed for approximately .-Overview:Borophagus, like other borophagines, are loosely...

(23.3—3.6 Mya), Paratomarctus

Paratomarctus

Paratomarctus an extinct member of the Borophaginae, subtribe Borophagina, a terrestrial canine which inhabited most of North America from the Harrisonian stage to Early Barstovian stage of the Miocene epoch living 16.3—5.3 mya, existed for approximately .-Canid competitors:Paratomarctus was one...

(16.3—5.3 Ma), Carpocyon

Carpocyon

Carpocyon is an extinct member of the Borophaginae, and a terrestrial canine which inhabited most of North America during the Barstovian stage of the Middle Miocene through the Hemphillian stage of the Late Miocene epoch 20.4—3.9 Mya. Carpocyon existed for approximately .-Taxonomy:Carpocyon was...

(20.4—3.9 Ma), Aelurodon

Aelurodon

Aelurodon is an extinct canine genus of the subfamily Borophaginae which lived from the Barstovian land mammal age of the middle Miocene to the Clarendonian age of the late Miocene...

(23.03—4.9 Ma), and the first emerging wolf, Canis lepophagus

Canis lepophagus

Canis lepophagus or Hare-eating Wolf is an extinct species of canidae which was endemic to much of North America and lived from the Miocene epoch through Early Pleistocene, 10.3—1.8 Mya. The species existed for approximately . It is one of the more basal species of Canis, having existed before most...

appearing 10.3 Ma.

Taxonomy

Epicyon was named by Joseph Leidy

Joseph Leidy

Joseph Leidy was an American paleontologist.Leidy was professor of anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania, and later was a professor of natural history at Swarthmore College. His book Extinct Fauna of Dakota and Nebraska contained many species not previously described and many previously...

 in 1858 as a subgenus

Subgenus

In biology, a subgenus is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.In zoology, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the generic name and the specific epithet: e.g. the Tiger Cowry of the Indo-Pacific, Cypraea tigris Linnaeus, which...

 of Canis

Canis

Canis is a genus containing 7 to 10 extant species, including dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals, and many extinct species.-Wolves, dogs and dingos:Wolves, dogs and dingos are subspecies of Canis lupus...

. It was also mentioned as belonging to Aelurodontina by William Diller Matthew

William Diller Matthew

William Diller Matthew FRS was a vertebrate paleontologist who worked primarily on mammal fossils....

 & Stirton in 1930.

Fossil range

Fossil specimens range from Florida to Alberta, Canada to California; from Nebraska, and Kansas to New Mexico and Texas.

Species

• Epicyon aelurodontoides existed for . It was named by X. Wang and others in 1999. It was found south of the Young Brothers Ranch, Kansas
  Kansas
  Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
  
  .

• Epicyon haydeni existed for It is synonymous with Aelurodon aphobus, Osteoborus ricardoensis, Osteoborus validus, Tephrocyon mortifer) was named by Joseph Leidy as a subgenus. It was recombined as Aelurodon haydeni by Scott and Osborn in 1890. Further study by Matthew in 1899, Matthew and Gidley in 1904, VanderHoof and Gregory in 1940, McGrew in 1944, Bennett in 1979, (1979) and Becker (1980). It again was recombined as Epicyon haydeni by Baskin in 1980, Voorhies in 1990, (1990), Baskin (1998), Wang et al. in 1999.
  • Morphology: The largest known specimen weighed an estimated 170 kg (374.8 lbs).

• Epicyon saevus existed for . It is synonymous with Aelurodon inflatus and was named by Joseph Leidy in 1858 or 1859. In the late 1880s-early 1900s,pe, Scott, Matthew, Cope and Matthew, Troxell recombined the animal as Aelurodon saevus. It was recombined as Epicyon saevus by Baskin in 1980, Munthe in 1989, Voorhies in 1990, and Wang et al. 1999.
  • Morphology: One specimen weighed an estimated 50.8 kg (112 lbs). A second weighed an estimated 44.8 (98.8 lbs).

General references

• Xiaoming Wang, Richard H. Tedford, Mauricio Antón, Dogs: Their Fossil Relatives and Evolutionary History, New York : Columbia University Press, 2008; ISBN 978-0-231-13528-3