Corumictis

Corumictis Temporal range: Early - Late Oligocene 28.8–25.9 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Mustelidae
Genus:	†Corumictis Paterson et al., 2020[1]
Species:	†C. wolsani
Binomial name
†Corumictis wolsani Paterson et al., 2020

Corumictis is an extinct genus of mustelid from the Early Oligocene (Arikareean) of North America, specifically Oregon.^[2] It contains a single species Corumictis wolsani, which is notable for being the oldest currently known mustelid.

Name[]

The generic name is derived from the Latin words Corum (northwest) and ictis (weasel). The specific name honors paleontologist , who extensively studied the evolutionary history of fossil musteloids.

Discovery[]

The skull of Corumictis was discovered around 2005 at the John Day Formation in northern Oregon, which dates to between 28.8 million and 25.9 million years ago.^[3] The skull was originally believed to have belonged to an ancient feline, but was re-examined by palaeontologist Ryan Paterson of Carlton University in Canada, who concluded that it was a mustelid instead.^[4]

Description[]

Corumictis was very small, about the size of the living least weasel; its skull measured just 4 cm (1.6 in) long.^[4] It is considered closely allied with Plesictis and certain Oligobunine mustelids.^[2] Corumictis has very sharp teeth, and compared to modern mustelids it lacks an alisphenoid canal and a postprotocrista on its first molars. It retains a dorsally deep suprameatal fossa, a feature occasionally considered unique to procyonids.^[2]

References[]