Bisonalveus
Bisonalveus
Extinct family of mammals
Bisonalveus is an extinct genus of shrew-like[1] mammals that were presumably ground-dwelling and fed on plants and insects.[2] Bisonalveus fossils have been discovered in the upper Great Plains region of North America,[3] including sites in modern-day Wyoming,[2][4] North Dakota,[2] Montana,[2] and Alberta.[5] The fossils have been dated to 60 million years ago, during the Tiffanian North American Stage of the Palaeocene epoch.[1][2][6] Bisonalveus is the last known genus of the Pentacodontinae sub-family to have arisen, replacing the genus Coriphagus in the early Tiffanian.[2][6] Bisonalveus itself appears to have gone extinct by the middle Tiffanian.[2]
Bisonalveus is represented by two known species: B. browni (Gazin, 1956) and B. holtzmani (Gingerich, 1983).[2][4][6]