Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
293 / Cenozoic
Mesonyx
Mesonyx obtusidens
Hoof-like toes and a large predatory skull belonged to a carnivorous mammal with no modern equivalent.
View original image · 1536 × 1024- Time range
- About 46–43 million years ago
- Final stage
- Middle Eocene
- Geographic range
- Open woodland and river valleys · North America
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Mesonyx?
Mesonyx (Mesonyx obtusidens) was an extinct organism known from About 46–43 million years ago, with a range in Open woodland and river valleys · North America.
Life and ecology
Mesonyx hunted or scavenged medium-sized mammals, combining running limbs with strong jaws and crushing cheek teeth.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Mesonyx disappear?
Eocene climate change and carnivore turnover saw mesonychians give way to other predatory mammals; a younger fauna does not by itself prove direct replacement.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Mesonyx?
Skulls, teeth and limb skeletons reveal its diet and hoof-bearing stance.
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