East Tennessee State University says researchers have found evidence of extinction of the “bone-crushing” dog at a fossil site that also included herbivores, a saber-toothed cat and alligators.
The university claims to have known the borophagous dog at the origin of gray fossils by locating a single bone of the right humerus in the upper arm. The “bone grinder” animal had sturdy teeth and jaws.
The university says this is the first evidence of a dog there. The animal has been found at dozens of fossil sites in the United States and Mexico, along with plants and animals from open environments such as grasslands.
Fossils of the gray fossil constitute a densely wooded habitat with many forest plants and arboreal animals.
“The identity of one bone-crushing dog adds to the list of terrestrial predators at the most sensitive gray fossil site, the other being a saber-toothed cat,” said Emily Bōgner, a doctoral student at UC Berkeley who helped conduct the study. research. ” With two giant predators on land and alligators in the water, the site’s herbivores have been on height alert. “
The Borophagus has a length similar to that of a wolf, weighing between 115 and 160 pounds, the university said. According to the National Park Service, the “bone crusher” dog lived millions of years ago, from the last Miocene to the Pliocene epoch.
Researchers expect more Borophagus fossils to be more informed about dogs,
“The proportions of Borophagus’ limbs are an enigma to researchers,” Bōgner said. “Having more limb bones would be wonderful to understand how those bone-crushing dogs were moving. “
Dr. Joshua Samuels, an associate professor at ETSU who also led the research, said the dogs’ way of life would be similar to that of hyenas.
“I would also like to see the bones that have been broken through Borophagus at the site,” Samuels said. “This can help us understand what they ate in the ancient appalachian forests. “