Extinct carnivorous mesonychid mammal from New Mexico, United States
Not to be confused with Ancalagon (worm).
Ankalagon
Temporal range: Early Paleocene
Life restoration of a female and male
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
†Mesonychia
Family:
†Mesonychidae
Genus:
†Ankalagon Van Valen, 1980
Species:
†A. saurognathus
Binomial name
†Ankalagon saurognathus
(Wortman, in Matthew, 1897)
Synonyms
Dissacus saurognathus
Ankalagon saurognathus is an extinct carnivorous mammal of the family Mesonychidae, endemic to North America during the Paleocene epoch (63.3—60.2 mya), existing for approximately 3.1 million years.[1]
Known from the Paleocene Nacimiento Formation of New Mexico, Ankalagon is the largest mesonychid known from the Paleocene of North America, and it provides the best evidence for sexual dimorphism in mesonychids.[2]
^PaleoBiology Database: Ankalagon saurognathus, basic info
^O'Leary, M.A.; S.G. Lucas & T.E. Williamson (2000). "A new specimen of Ankalagon (Mammalia, Mesonychia) and evidence of sexual dimorphism in mesonychians". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 20 (2): 387–393. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2000)020[0387:ANSOAM]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 4524103. S2CID 86542114.
Ankalagon saurognathus is an extinct carnivorous mammal of the family Mesonychidae, endemic to North America during the Paleocene epoch (63.3—60.2 mya)...
Northern Hemisphere, but species of a closely related or identical genus, Ankalagon, from the early to middle Paleocene of New Mexico, were far larger, growing...
of J.R.R. Tolkien Ancalagon (worm), a fossil genus of priapulid worms Ankalagon saurognathus, a Paleocene mesonychid mammal, originally named Ancalagon...
McKenna (2007) and Spaulding et al. (2009). Family Mesonychidae Genus Ankalagon A. saurognathus Genus Dissacus D. argenteus D. europaeus D. indigenus...
remained small, most not even bigger than a sheep; however; a few (like Ankalagon saurognathus) reached the size of a medium-sized bear. Numerous lineages...
of a skull of Sinonyx jiashanensis identifies its closest relative as Ankalagon. S. jiashanensis was discovered in Anhui province, China (30°54′N 120°54′E...
bear-sized Ankalagon is closely related to Dissacus. Some paleontologists consider it a sister or daughter genus, while others suggest Ankalagon is just...
Dinocerata. Large carnivores include the wolf-like Mesonychia, such as Ankalagon and Sinonyx. Though there was an explosive diversification, the affinities...
mesonychians reached a size of a bear. Such large were Mongolonyx from Asia and Ankalagon from North America. Another large mesonychian is Harpagolestes with a...
Triisodon Family Hapalodectidae Genus Hapalodectes Family Mesonychidae Genus Ankalagon Genus Mesonyx Mesonyx obtusidens Genus Dissacus Genus Jiangxia Genus Pachyaena...
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