Lonchocyon

This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Lonchocyon" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2023)

Lonchocyon Temporal range: Late Eocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Mandible of Lonchocyon qiui
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Infraorder:	Arctoidea
Genus:	Lonchocyon Zhang et al., 2023
Type species
†Lonchocyon qiui Zhang et al., 2023

Lonchocyon is an extinct genus of arctoid carnivorans, with possible affinities to amphicyonids or hemicyonine bears. It contains a single species, Lonchocyon qiui, known from a single left mandible discovered at the fossil-bearing locality Haerhada at the base of the Baron Sog Formation, which is located in Inner Mongolia, China, and dates to the late Eocene. This taxon is notable for its large size in comparison to other arctoid carnivorans of the Eocene epoch, and for its hypercarnivorous adaptions, most notably its large canine and strongly reduced premolars. The genus name is a combination of Greek lonch, meaning spear and referencing the spear-like paraconid on its lower carnassial, and cyon, meaning dog. The specific name honours Professor Zhan-Xiang Qiu.