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Osmotherium

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Extinct genus of skunks

Osmotherium
Temporal range: 1.8–0.3 Ma PreꞒ O S D C P T J K Pg NPleistocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mephitidae
Genus: Osmotherium
Cope, 1896
Type species
Osmotherium spelaeum
Cope, 1896

Osmotherium is an extinct genus of skunk from Pleistocene North America. it contains a single species, Osmotherium spelaeum. The genus name, Osmotherium, hails from Aincient Greek, osmḗ, "smell"; and therium, "beast"; meaning smelly beast. The species name, spelaeum, Latin for "cave", in reference to the sole locality which its remains have been found in, Port Kennedy Bone Cave.

While fragmentary, Osmotherium spelaeum's jaws are the most prominent of any other Mephitid in the locality, with Cope himself describing 6 different specimens, although attributing some to Mephitis, Brachyprotoma and the now defunct Pelycictis.

While information on these fragmentary remains scarce, in 2005 Wang et al.'s description of Martinogale faulli, Osmotherium was recovered as a sister genus to Mephitis:

Mephitidae

Mydaus

Palaeomephitis

Promephitis

Mephitini

Martinogale faulli

Martinogale chisoensis

Martinogale alveodens

Buisnictis

Spilogale

Brachyprotoma

Mephitis

Osmotherium

Conepatus

References

  1. Cope, E. D. (1896). "New and Little Known Mammalia from the Port Kennedy Bone Deposit". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 48: 378–394.
  2. Cope, E. D. (1899). "Vertebrate remains from Port Kennedy bone deposits". Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 11: 193–286.
  3. Hall, E. R. (1936). Mustelid Mammals from the Pleistocene of North America: With Systematic Notes on Some Recent Members of the Gerera Mustela, Taxidea and Mephitis.
  4. Daeschler, E., Spamer, E. E., & Parris, D. C. (1993). Review and new data on the Port Kennedy local fauna and flora (Late Irvingtonian), Valley Forge National Historical Park, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The Mosasaur, 5, 23–41.
  5. Wang, Xiaoming; Whistler, David P.; Takeuchi, Gary T. (2005-12-30). "A new basal skunk Martinogale (Carnivora, Mephitinae) from Late Miocene Dove Spring Formation, California, and origin of New World mephitines". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 25 (4): 936–949. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2005)025[0936:ANBSMC]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0272-4634.
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