Ekorus

Ekorus Temporal range: Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Ekorus ekakeran
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Mustelidae
Genus:	†Ekorus Werdelin, 2003
Species:	†E. ekakeran
Binomial name
†Ekorus ekakeran Werdelin, 2003

Ekorus ekakeran is a large, extinct mustelid mammal. Fossils, including largely complete skeletons, are known from the late Miocene of Kenya.^[1]

Description

Ekorus reached almost 44 kg (97 lb), comparably to a

Fossils of giant Miocene mustelids with similar morphology, reconstructed as hypercarnivores or carnivore-scavengers, have also been discovered in North America,[6] Europe,^[7] and Asia,^[8] as well as other parts of Africa.^[9]

Paleoecology

Apparently before the African savannas evolved, the giant mustelid Ekorus stalked its prey, such as the three-toed horse Eurygnathohippus and the large pig Nyanzachoerus, in forests and woodlands.

In the early Cenozoic, Africa was isolated from Eurasia, where modern African groups such as cats and giraffes first evolved. African predators and prey developed along their own lines to hunt in closed environments. Ekorus had the upright stance typical of active hunters, lacked digging adaptations, and was leopard-sized, with leopard-like body proportions. Since leopards are ambush hunters in forests and woodlands,^[10] Ekorus may have filled a parallel role in the Miocene forests of Africa.^[11] Other research has suggested the genus was cursorial, chasing down prey more like a modern wolf or spotted hyena.^[5] In general, Miocene predators show larger body sizes with anatomies between the modern "dog-like" pursuit running and "cat-like" stalk-pounce-and-grapple strategies. This was suggested to be the result of the great abundance of prey species in Miocene forests, which allowed predators to survive without having to specialize as either fast runners or grapplers.^[12]

Extinction

Felids are first recorded on the continent in the early Miocene, in north Africa.^[13] Tectonic changes starting about 35 million years ago led to the formation of the Great Rift Valley, and the rise of highlands that cause rain shadows in the surrounding region. Before the rift opened, Kenya was more forested.^[14] Grasslands began to spread across Africa in the mid-Miocene, slowly replacing closed forest environments with open savannas.^[15] Any or all of these factors may have led to the replacement of Ekorus and other large mustelid hunters by modern felids, hyaenids, and canids.

References