Hypocarnivore
dandelions
– an example of a hypocarnivoreA hypocarnivore is an animal that consumes less than 30% meat for its diet, the majority of which consists of
fungi, fruits, and other plant material.[1] Examples of living hypocarnivores are the grizzly bear (Ursus horribilis), black bear (Ursus americanus), binturong (Arctictis binturong), kinkajou
(Potos flavus), and humans (Homo sapiens).
The evolutionary division of
.Large hypocarnivores (Ursus) were rare and developed in the mid-to-late Miocene-Pliocene as Borophaginae became extinct.
Dentition
Examination of dentition shows that post-carnassial molar volume expands with hypocarnivores while decreasing in hypercarnivores.[3] Prohesperocyon (38 mya—33.9 mya) displayed a shift in relative proportion between slicing and grinding functions indicative of a dietary shift away from vertebrate foods to one including fruits.
See also
Sources
- ^ Van Valkenburgh, B. "Déjà vu: The evolution of feeding morphologies in the Carnivora". Retrieved January 26, 2014.
- ^ Wang, X., Tedford, R. H. and Taylor, B. E. (1999). "Phylogenetic systematics of the Borophaginae (Carnivora: Canidae)". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 243: 1–391.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Ewer, R. F. (1973). The Carnivores. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
 | This zoology–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |