Sinonyx jiashanensis
#sciart #sinonyx #anhui #china #paleocene #ankalagon #mesonychia #mesonychidae

WIP Sinonyx jiashanensis
#wip #sciart #sinonyx #anhui #china #paleocene #ankalagon #mesonychia #mesonychidae

sinonyx jiashanensis, one of the world’s earliest large carnivorous mammals, which had hooves. sinonyx was part of the extinct family mesonychidae and order mesonychia that first appeared in the paleocene, the next epoch after the dinosaurs went extinct. with the loss of the world’s dominant species, many niches were reopened and mammals quickly evolved to fill them. it was about the size of a grey wolf and this group was basal to modern ungulates (hoofed animals), possibly ancestral. they had four-toed feet, but each toe had a small hoof. because of this, they couldn’t pin down or grapple with prey, but hooves developed for shock absorption for higher speed and endurance. mesonychids almost certainly chased their prey similarly to wolves, but more slowly over longer distances, until the prey slowed or collapsed from exhaustion. since they relied solely on their jaws to kill prey, they evolved large heads to house large, strong jaw muscles that gave them powerful bites. their longer tails than modern ungulates allowed them to steer more easily while chasing prey, especially if it might have tried to change direction often to confuse and slow its predator. they likely behaved fairly similarly to modern carnivorans, but their spines were less flexible, and so their running posture would have been more similar to the more closely related modern ungulates like horses and deer. they lasted until the next epoch, the late eocene, possibly even the early oligocene with one last species, but ultimately succumbed likely to climate change and possibly competition as is typical of smaller prehistoric extinctions. color inspired by chevrotains and young suines. drawn in a cartoony style looking something like a cross between dog and deer with brown, grey, and yellowish fur, and white spots and stripes, against a forest background.

first time trying to do more detailed paleoart for my portfolio to open paleo commissions soon, although my pen died and i got impatient and did the background messily with my finger… :P
sinonyx jiashanensis!
#paleoart #paleontology #cenozoic #sinonyx #mesonychia

A murky-watered pond filled with lotus leaves. In the center are a pair of dog-like animals playfully bickering over a dead, rodent-like creature in the bloody jaws of the left-facing beast.

Sinonyx jianshanensis
#sciart #paleocene #china #sinonyx #mesonychidae #mesonychia

"Snack attack"
WIP "Sinonyx"
#sciart #sinonyx #mesonychidae

A dog-like animal flees a larger, bear-sized predator through dense foliage. A smaller dog-like animal slinks about unnoticed by either larger relatives

Comparison of Sinonyx, Jiangxia, and Yantanglestes
#sciart #paleocene #china #sinonyx #jiangxia #yantanglestes #mesonychidae #mesonychia

WIP "I C"
#sciart #eye #sinonyx

WIP "It's so greeeeen!"
#sciart #paleocene #china #mesonychidae #mesonychia #sinonyx #jiangxia #yantanglestes

A wolf-like animal, Pachyaena, laps water at the shore of a river, while two otter-like animals, the larger being Hapalorestes, and the smaller Hapalodects, swim deeper within the water.

A skinny, terrier-sized animal, Guillestes, scampers across leaf litter, passing by the gigantic, elephantine toes of brontotheres.

A large dog-like animal, Eoconodon, is chewing on a lizard it has just dug out of the forest floor. A second, smaller animal, skitters by.

Two large, wolf-like animals, Sinonyx, stand in a lotus pond as they bicker over a primitive rabbit in one of the beasts' jaws.

Mesonychia
#sciart #eocene #paleocene #Mesonychia #mesonychidae #hapalodectidae #triisodntidae #hapalorestes #guillestes #eoconodon #sinonyx