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Borophagus
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Borophagus

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Borophagus ("gluttonous eater") is an extinct genus of the subfamily Borophaginae, a group of canids endemic to North America from the Middle Miocene to the early Pleistocene (12—2Mya).

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start time
12000000-0
end time
2000000-00
taxon name
Borophagus
Commons category
Borophagus
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  • Evolution
  • Description
  • Species
  • Paleoecology
  • References
  • Further reading

Borophagus ("gluttonous eater") is an extinct genus of the subfamily Borophaginae, a group of canids endemic to North America from the Middle Miocene to the early Pleistocene (12—2Mya).

==Evolution== Borophagus, like other borophagines, are loosely known as "bone-crushing" or "hyena-like" dogs. Though not the most massive borophagine by size or weight, it had a more highly evolved capacity to crunch bone than earlier, larger genera such as Epicyon, which seems to be an evolutionary trend of the group (Turner, 2004). During the Pliocene epoch, Borophagus began being displaced by other Canid species such as Canis edwardii and later by Aenocyon dirus. Early species of Borophagus were placed in the genus Osteoborus until recently, but the genera are now considered synonyms.

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