Bear dog
extinct family of carnivoran mammals / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Amphicyonidae or bear dogs, is an extinct family of large terrestrial carnivores.
Quick Facts Scientific classification, Subfamilies ...
Amphicyonidae | |
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Skeleton of Amphicyon | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Suborder: | Caniformia |
Family: | †Amphicyonidae Haeckel, 1886 |
Subfamilies | |
†Amphicyoninae |
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They belonged to the dog-like suborder Caniformia. It had a wide distribution in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. They lived from the Eocene epoch to the Pleistocene epoch 46.2 – 1.8 million years ago (mya), for a total of about 44.4 million years or from the Paleocene to the Quaternary period.[1]
Originally they evolved in the Old World, but crossed over to the Americas during the Miocene epoch. This would happen at a time when crossing was possible via the Bering Strait.[2]