Plithocyon is an extinct genus of bear-like hemicyonid

Hemicyonidae

Hemicyonidae is an extinct family of so-called "dog-bears", literally "Half Dog" , bear-like carnivoran living in Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia during the Oligocene through Miocene epochs 33.9—5.3 Ma, existing for approximately ....

 carnivore

Carnivore

A carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging...

 of 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...

 epoch, 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...

 and Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 living from ~15.97—7.25 Ma, existing for approximately .

Taxonomy

Plithocyon was named by Ginsburg (1955). It was assigned to Ursidae by Ginsburg (1955) and Carroll (1988); and to Hemicyoninae

Hemicyoninae

Hemicyoninae is an extinct subfamily of bear-like mammals of the family Ursidae endemic to North America and Europe during Oligocene through Miocene, living from ~33.9—7.2 Ma, existing for approximately ....

 by Hunt (1998).

Body mass

Two specimens were examined by Legendre and Roth for body mass.

• Specimen 1: 79.3 kg (174.8 lb)
• Specimen 2: 652.6 kg (1,438.7 lb)

Fossil distribution

Sites and age of specimens:

• Hemicyon Quarry, Barstow Formation
  Barstow Formation
  The Barstow Formation is a series of limestones, conglomerates, sandstones, siltstones and shales exposed in the Mojave Desert near Barstow, California. It is early to middle Miocene in age, and lends its name to the Barstovian North American land mammal age...
  
  , San Bernardino County, California
  San Bernardino County, California
  San Bernardino County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, up from 1,709,434 as of the 2000 census...
  
   ~13.7—11.6 Ma.
• Ruby River Basin No.5, Madison County, Montana
  Madison County, Montana
  -National protected areas:*Beaverhead National Forest *Deerlodge National Forest *Gallatin National Forest -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 6,851 people, 2,956 households, and 1,921 families residing in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile...
  
   ~23—5.3 Ma.
• Pasalar site, Bursa, Turkey
  Bursa, Turkey
  Bursa is a city in northwestern Turkey and the seat of Bursa Province. The metropolitan area in the entire Bursa province had a population of 2.6 million as of 2010, making the city fourth most populous in Turkey. The city is equally one of the most industrialized metropolitan centers in the...
  
   ~16—13.7 Ma.
• Pontigne site, France
  France
  The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
  
  ~11.6—7.2 Ma.

Species

• Plithocyon antunesi Ginsburg & Morales, 1998
• Plithocyon armagnacensis Ginsburg, 1955
• Plithocyon barstowensis (Frick, 1926)
• Plithocyon bruneti Ginsburg, 1980
• Plithocyon conquense Ginsberg
• Plithocyon ursinus (Cope, 1875)

Reference

• Ginsburg, L. & Morales, J. 1998. Les Hemicyoninae (Ursidae, Carnivora, Mammalia) et les formes apparentées du Miocène inférieur et moyen d'Europe occidentale. Ann. Paléontol. 84 (1): 71-123.