Agnotherium

Agnotherium is a genus of large sized carnivoran mammals, belonging to the Amphicyonidae ("bear dogs"), which has been found in Western Europe, and possibly China and Pakistan, and lived during the Late Miocene epoch. Despite only being known from fragmentary remains, the genus notable for hypercarnivorous adaptions, which have been said to represent the "apex" of its family.

== History and naming == The genus Agnotherium was created by Johann Jakob von Kaup, based on a single molar (HLMD Din 1143) found in the Eppelsheim Formation, better known as the Dinotheriensande, located in southwestern Germany. Kaup, who described many Eppelsheim mammals, including such famous ones as Deinotherium, Machairodus and Chalicotherium, named the fragmentary material Agnotherium antiquum. He noted that he only reason he gave a name to this fragmentary taxon was to "draw naturalists' attention to this genus" since it has teeth unlike any animal he had ever seen before. Over the next 180 years the genus was involved in taxonomic uncertainty, with various material being assigned to it, of which most was later excluded. Kaup himself added to the confusion by renaming his found into "Agnocyon", since the name Agnotherium was "not fitting for a predator". Kuss synonymized the genus Tomocyon with Agnotherium, which led to a second species, A. grivense, being recognized by several authors. This, however, has been disputed since, and Agnotherium is now regarded as monotypic.