Mesonyx
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| Mesonyx Fossil range: Middle - Late Eocene |
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 Mesonyx obtusidens pursuing Bathyopsis
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Mesonyx ("middle claw") is the type genus of the family Mesonychidae, the type family of the Order Mesonychia (sometimes referred to by its older name, "Acreodi"), an order that may have been ancestral to cetaceans. It was a wolflike predator from the Middle Eocene of Wyoming and East Asia (around 45 million years ago), its small dog-size. Agile limbs made it a fast runner, and it probably hunted hoofed plant eaters, moving lightly on its toes. However, instead of claws, Mesonyx's toes ended in small hooves. Its long skull had a relatively large sagittal crest above the braincase to anchor large jaw muscles and give it a powerful bite.
Mesonyx uintensis from the Upper Eocene of Wyoming is described as having a total cranium length of 429 mm. and a facial length of 206 mm. Another specimen of Mesonyx uintensis is known from the Upper Eocene of northern Utah,[1]
[edit] References
- Much of the introductory information in the first paragraph is from Dinosaur Encyclopedia
- ^ Osborn, Henry Fairfield (November 11, 1924). "Andrewsarchus, giant mesonychid of Mongolia". American Museum Novitates (146). The American Museum of Natural History.
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