Proviverrinae

Mounted skeleton of Proviverra grangeri in the Smithsonian Institution, photographed by Daderot.

Belongs within: Creodonta.

The Proviverrinae are a generalised group of creodonts that are probably paraphyletic with regard to other more derived hyaenodontids. Two distinct groups have been identified within the proviverrines that may represent distinct lineages: one, including the relatives of Proviverra, is characterised by molars with a tricuspid talonid bearing a broad postfossid, and a two-rooted P/1, whereas the other, including the relatives of Prototomus has molars with a reduced entoconid and elongated postfossid, and a primitively single-rooted P/1 (Gheerbrant et al. 2006).

Characters (from Gunnell 1998): M1-3 tritubercular; m1-3 tuberculo-sectorial; m1-3 usually with distinct metaconids and moderate shearing specialisations; premolars elongate, often laterally compressed; feet and limbs may be specialised for climbing or cursoriality.

<==Proviverrinae [Proviverridae, Proviverrini, Stypolophinae]
    |  i. s.: ‘Didelphis’ colchesteri Owen 1846 V65
    |--Anasinopa Savage 1965 S78, V67
    |    `--A. leakeyi S78 [=Paracynohyaenodon leakeyi V67]
    |--Arfia Van Valen 1965 GI06, V67
    |    |--*A. opisthotoma (Matthew 1901) [=Sinopa opisthotoma] V65
    |    `--A. shoshoniensis (Matthew 1915) [=Sinopa shoshoniensis] V65
    |--Masrasector aegypticum Simon & Gingerich 1974 S78
    |--Tinerhodon disputatum Gheerbrant 1995 GI06
    |--Acarictis ryani Gingerich & Deutsch 1989 GI06
    |--Galecyon GI06
    |--Gazinocyon GI06
    |--Proviverroides GI06
    |--Pyrocyon dioctetus GI06, HUG17
    |--Paratritemnodon GI06
    |--Parvagula palulae Godinot et al. 1987 GI06
    |--Boualitomus Gheerbrant, Iarochene et al. 2006 GI06
    |    `--*B. marocanensis Gheerbrant, Iarochene et al. 2006 GI06
    |--Prototomus Cope 1874 GI06, V66 [incl. Protoproviverra Lemoine 1891 V67]
    |    |--*P. viverrinus Cope 1874 V66, C77 [=Stypolophus viverrinus C77]
    |    |--P. minimus Smith & Smith 2001 GI06
    |    |--P. mordax (Matthew 1915) V65
    |    |--P. multicuspis (Cope 1875) V65 [=Stypolophus multicuspis C77]
    |    |--P. palaeonictides (Lemoine 1880) V65 (see below for synonymy)
    |    |--P. secundaria (Cope 1875) V65 [=Sinopa secundaria V66, Stypolophus secundarius C77]
    |    |--P. torvidus Van Valen 1965 V65
    |    `--P. vulpecula (Matthew 1915) V65
    |--Propterodon Martin 1906 S78, V66
    |    |--P. morrisi (Matthew & Granger 1924) (see below for synonymy) V65
    |    `--P. minutus (Douglass 1901) V65 [=Hyaenodon minutus V66]
    `--Proviverra Rütimeyer 1862 (see below for synonymy) V67
         |--*P. typica Rütimeyer 1862 V65 [incl. *Prorhyzaena egerkingiae Rütimeyer 1891 V66, V65]
         |--‘Triacodon’ aculeatus Cope 1872 [=Stypolophus aculeatus] C77
         |--P. eisenmanni Godinot 1981 GI06
         |--P. gracilis (Matthes 1952) [=Leonhardtina gracilis; incl. Geiselotherium pilzi Matthes 1952] V65
         |--P. grangeri (Matthew 1906) V65 [=Sinopa grangeri V66]
         |--‘Stypolophus’ hians Cope 1877 C77
         |--P. major (Wortman 1902) V65 [=Sinopa major V66]
         |--P. minor (Filhol 1877) [=Cynohyaenodon minor] V65
         |--P. ‘minor’ (Wortman 1902) non Cynohyaenodon minor Filhol 1877 V65 [=Sinopa minor V66]
         |--‘Sinopa’ mordax V66
         |--V. pungens (Cope 1872) V65 [=Sinopa pungens D07]
         |--P. rapax (Leidy 1871) V65 [=Sinopa rapax V66]
         |    |--P. r. rapax V65
         |    `--P. r. lania (Matthew 1909) V65
         |--‘Prototomus’ strenuus Cope 1875 [=Stypolophus strenuus] C77
         `--‘Sinopa’ vulpecula V66

Propterodon morrisi (Matthew & Granger 1924) [=Paracynohyaenodon morrisi; incl. *Pr. irdinensis Matthew & Granger 1925] V65

Prototomus palaeonictides (Lemoine 1880) V65 [=Proviverra palaeonictides V66, Protoproviverra palaeonictides V66, Prov. pomeli Lemoine 1891 V66]

Proviverra Rütimeyer 1862 [incl. Geiselotherium Matthes 1952 V67, Leonhardtina Matthes 1952 V67, Prorhyzaena Rütimeyer 1891, Sinopa Leidy 1871, Stypolophus Cope 1872] V67

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[C77] Cope, E. D. 1877. Report upon the extinct Vertebrata obtained in New Mexico by parties of the expedition of 1874. Geographical Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian 4 (2): i–iv, 1–370.

[D07] Dixon, D. 2007. The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures. Hermes House: London.

[GI06] Gheerbrant, E., M. Iarochene, M. Amaghzaz & B. Bouya. 2006. Early African hyaenodontid mammals and their bearing on the origin of the Creodonta. Geological Magazine 143 (4): 475–489.

[HUG17] Halliday, T. J. D., P. Upchurch & A. Goswami. 2017. Resolving the relationships of Paleocene placental mammals. Biological Reviews 92 (1): 521–550.

[S78] Savage, R. J. G. 1978. Carnivora. In: (V. J. Maglio, V. J., & H. B. S. Cooke (eds) Evolution of African Mammals pp. 249–267. Harvard University Press: Cambridge (Massachusetts).

[V65] Van Valen, L. 1965. Some European Proviverrini (Mammalia, Deltatheridia). Palaeontology 8 (4): 638–665.

[V66] Van Valen, L. 1966. Deltatheridia, a new order of mammals. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 132 (1): 1–126.

[V67] Van Valen, L. 1967. New Paleocene insectivores and insectivore classification. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 135 (5): 217–284.

Last updated: 13 August 2018.