Dissacus

Dissacus Temporal range: Early Paleocene–Early Eocene PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	†Mesonychia
Family:	†Mesonychidae
Genus:	†Dissacus Cope, 1881[1]
Type species
†Dissacus navajovius
Species
†D. argenteus †D. europaeus †D. indigenus †D. magushanensis †D. navajovius †D. praenuntius †D. rotundus †D. serior †D. serratus †D. willwoodensis †D. zanabazari †D. zengi

Dissacus is a genus of extinct carnivorous jackal to coyote-sized mammals within the family Mesonychidae whose fossils are found in Paleocene to Early Eocene aged strata in France, Asia and southwest North America, 66—50.3 mya, existing for approximately 15.7 million years.

The bear-sized Ankalagon is closely related to Dissacus, being regarded as a sister or daughter genus.

Dissacus had a Holarctic distribution but Dissacus europaeus is the only mesonychid currently known from European strata. The fossil record of this species is fragmentary; remains in Cernay, France, include a mandible, a complete radius, and fragments of a humerus. A morphological study of these bones suggests this animal was digitigrade and more cursorial than is usually assumed for the genus. ^[2]

Species

• Genus Dissacus
  • Dissacus argenteus
  • Dissacus europaeus
  • Dissacus indigenus
  • Dissacus magushanensis
  • Dissacus navajovius
  • Dissacus praenuntius
  • Dissacus rotundus
  • Dissacus serior
  • Dissacus serratus
  • Dissacus willwoodensis
  • Dissacus zanabazari
  • Dissacus zengi

References

1. PaleoBiology Database: Dissacus, basic info
2. Agusti, Jordi; Anton, Mauricio (2002). Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids: 65 Million Years of Mammalian Evolution in Europe. Columbia University Press. pp. 13, 14. ISBN 0-231-11640-3.