Chasmaporthetes, also known as hunting or running hyena, is an extinct genus of hyenasO. P. Hay. 1921. Descriptions of species of Pleistocene Vertebrata, types or specimens of most of which are preserved in the United States National Museum. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 59:599-642D. Geraads. 1997. Carnivores du Pliocene terminal de Ahl al Oughlam (Casablanca, Maroc). Géobios 30(1):127-164J. J. Flynn. 1998. Early Cenozoic Carnivora ("Miacoidea"). In C. M. Janis, K. M. Scott, and L. L. Jacobs (eds.), Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America 1:110-123 distributed in Eurasia, North America, and Africa during the Pliocene-Pleistocene epochs, living from 4.9 million to 780,000 years ago, existing for about .
The genus probably arose from Eurasian Miocene hyenas such as Thalassictis or Lycyaena, with C. borissiaki being the oldest known representative.Kurtén, Björn (1980) Pleistocene mammals of North America, p. 199, Columbia University Press, 1980, The species C. ossifragus was the only hyena to cross the Bering land bridge into the Americas, and ranged over what is now Arizona and Mexico during Blancan and early Irvingtonian Land Mammal ages, between 5.0 and 1.5 million years ago.Macdonald, David (1992) The Velvet Claw: A Natural History of the Carnivores, p. 119-144, New York: Parkwest,
Chasmaporthetes was one of the so-called "dog-like" hyenas (of which the aardwolf is the only survivor), a hyaenid group which, in contrast to the now more common "bone-crushing" hyenas, evolved into slender-limbed, cursorial hunters like modern canids.
Taxonomy and etymology Chasmaporthetes was named (from chasm and the Greek (), "destroyer, ravager") by Hay (1921), who noted that the name meant that the North American species, Chasmaporthetes ossifragus (the type species) possibly saw the beginning of the Grand Canyon.
Species
At least nine species are currently recognised:
Chasmaporthetes ossifragus Hay, 1921 - North America, Pliocene to Pleistocene C. australis Hendey, 1974 - Africa, Late Miocene C. bonisi Koufos, 1987 - Greece, Late Miocene C. borissiaki Khomenko, 1932 - Russia, Pliocene (disputed) C. exitelus Kurtén & Werdelin, 1988 - China, Late Miocene C. gangsriensis Tseng, Li, & Wang, 2013 - Asia, Early Pliocene C. lunensis Del Campana, 1914 - Eurasia, Late Miocene to Early Pleistocene C. melei Rook et al, 2004 - Sardinia, Early Pleistocene C. nitidula Geraads, 1997 - Africa, Pliocene to Early Pleistocene
Palaeobiology
Diet
The limb bones of Chasmaporthetes were long and slender like those of cheetahs. It likely inhabited open ground and was a daytime hunter. Relative to the body size of the species, the skull of C. lunensis was superbly adapted for dissipating stresses generated by struggling prey. The European C. lunensis is regarded as an active group hunter of medium-sized ungulates. It may have preyed on the small Bourbon gazelle (Gazella borbonica) and the chamois antelope (Procamptoceras brivatense).Kurtén, Björn (1968) Pleistocene mammals of Europe, p. 68-69, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968 The North American C. ossifragus was similar in build to C. lunensis, but had slightly more robust jaws and teeth. It may have preyed on the giant marmot Paenemarmota.
The cheek teeth of Chasmaporthetes were slender and sharp-edged like those of felids. A study on the genus' premolar intercuspid notches indicated Chasmaporthetes was likely hypercarnivorous rather than durophagous as its modern cousins (excluding the aardwolf) are. The microstructure of the enamel of C. lunensis lunensis consists of more gently folding enamel than that found in bone-crushing hyaenids, further supporting the notion that it was not a specialist osteophage. Dental microwear of C. australis from Langebaanweg in South Africa shows that the species was hypercarnivorous and rarely engaged in durophagy; its dental microwear was similar to the modern lion, which seldom consumes bone.
Competition An Early Pleistocene skull of C. lunensis from Spain displays bite marks most likely inflicted by a conspecific, although these bite marks may have also been left by a Pliocrocuta or a felid. In Europe, C. lunensis also competed with Acinonyx jubatus, the giant cheetah. In North America, C. ossifragus competed with the far more numerous Borophagus diversidens.Wang, Xiaoming & Tedford, Richard H. (2008) Dogs: their fossil relatives and evolutionary history Columbia University Press,
References
External links Anton, M., Turner, A., Salesa, M. J., Morales, J. A complete skull of Chasmaporthetes lunensis (Carnivora, Hyaenidae) from the Spanish Pliocene site of La Puebla de Valverde (Teruel) Estudios Geol., Vol. 62, n.º 1, 375-388, enero-diciembre 2006.