Palaeomephitis
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Palaeomephitis steinheimensis

Palaeomephitis steinheimensis is an extinct species of mephitid of the Miocene epoch in Europe. It is the earliest known species of the family Mephitidae.

Appearance

Palaeomephitis steinheimensis was described by Jäger in 1839 from a well-preserved cranium found in Steinheim am Albuch in Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany. Subsequently, different authors considered it to represent a viverrid or a leptarctine mustelid. It was placed in the Mephitinae (now considered to be a distinct family) by Wolsan in 1999, on the evidence of its having an extended epitympanic recess to the middle ear.

Geography

References

1. Palaeomephitis Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palaeomephitis

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