Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
342 / Cenozoic
Kolponomos
Kolponomos newportensis
A bear-like carnivore used powerful jaws to pry and crush shellfish.
View original image · 1536 × 1024- Time range
- About 20–16 million years ago
- Final stage
- Early Miocene
- Geographic range
- Rocky Pacific coasts · North America
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Kolponomos?
Kolponomos (Kolponomos newportensis) was an extinct organism known from About 20–16 million years ago, with a range in Rocky Pacific coasts · North America.
Life and ecology
Kolponomos waded in the intertidal zone and twisted hard prey from rocks.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Kolponomos disappear?
Coastal change and competition among marine mammals are possible context, but the fossil record does not establish why this lineage disappeared.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Kolponomos?
Skulls, jaws and neck biomechanics reveal sea-otter-like feeding from another lineage.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS