Tartarocyon

{{Short description|Extinct genus of carnivores}} {{More citations needed|date=June 2022}} {{speciesbox | fossil_range = Middle Miocene (Serravallian) <br/> {{Fossil range|12.8|12.0}} | image = Tartarocyon_holotype.png | image_caption = ''Tartarocyon cazanavei'' holotype | genus = Tartarocyon | parent_authority = Solé, Lesport, Heitz & Mennecart, 2022 | species = cazanavei | authority = Solé, Lesport, Heitz & Mennecart, 2022 | synonyms = }}

thumb|left|Life reconstruction of a pair of ''Tartarocyon cazanavei'' in their natural environment '''''Tartarocyon''''' is an extinct genus of Amphicyonidae, who lived during the late Middle Miocene. It was described after fossilized remains found in Sallespisse, France. Despite the scarceness of its fossil remains, being only known from the holotype mandible, its body mass has been estimated to be close to 200 kilograms, far from its closest relative, ''Cynelos'', and making it one of the largest terrestrial predators of Miocene Europe.<ref name="Solé2022">{{Cite journal |last1=Solé |first1=F. |last2=Lesport |first2=J.-F. |last3=Heitz |first3=A. |last4=Mennecart |first4=B. |date=2022 |title=A new gigantic carnivore (Carnivora, Amphicyonidae) from the late middle Miocene of France |journal=PeerJ |volume=10 |article-number=e13457 |doi=10.7717/peerj.13457|pmid=35726261 |pmc=9206431 |doi-access=free }}</ref> '''''T. cazanavei''''' is the only species included in the genus.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gigantic Bear-Dogs Lived in France 12 Million Years Ago {{!}} Sci-News.com |url=http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/tartarocyon-cazanavei-10908.html |access-date=2022-06-22 |website=Breaking Science News {{!}} Sci-News.com |date=16 June 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref> The genus was named after a southwestern French Pyrenees legend of a man eating giant ; the species name honors the owner of the terrain in which the holotype has been discovered.<ref name=Solé2022/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pskhun |date=2022-06-18 |title=Species New to Science: [PaleoMammalogy • 2022] Tartarocyon cazanavei • A New Gigantic Carnivore (Carnivora, Amphicyonidae) from the late middle Miocene of France |url=https://novataxa.blogspot.com/2022/06/tartarocyon.html |access-date=2022-06-22 |website=Species New to Science}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Serravallian Category:Miocene mammals of Europe Category:Miocene Amphicyonidae Category:Fossils of France Category:Neogene France Category:Fossil taxa described in 2022 Category:Monotypic prehistoric carnivoran genera