Mesonychid
Encyclopedia : M : ME : MES : Mesonychid
Mesonychids are an extinct order of even-toed carnivorous ungulates (hoofed animals) which looked like wolves, and were scavengers for carrion and hunters of fish. These animals possessed unusual triangular teeth that are similar to those of whales. For this reason, scientists had long believed that whales evolved from a form of mesonychid. Andrewsarchus was a mesonychid.
These 'wolves on hooves' were the dominant predators in the late Paleocene and Eocene. They are closely related to the Artiodactylans and Cetaceans, although they are no longer seen as the ancestors of whales. They probably descended from the Condylarths and are part of the cohort or superorder Laurasiatheria.
Some cryptozoologists believed that the Beast of Gévaudan was actually a mesonychid.[[Citing sources citation needed]]
See also
External links
- [Paleocene Mammals of the World: Carnivores, Creodonts and Carnivorous Ungulates]
- [Mesonychids in Cryptozoology]
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