page_title: Mesocarnivore
section_title: Dentition
hierarchical_section_title: Mesocarnivore / Characteristics / Dentition
caption_attribution_description: English: Upper palate and dentition of Rhynchippus equinus from the Sarmiento Formation, Golfo San Jorge Basin, Argentina
context_page_description: A mesocarnivore is an animal whose diet consists of 50–70% meat with the balance consisting of non-animal foods which may include insects, fungi, fruits, other plant material and any food that is available to them. Mesocarnivores are from a large family group of mammalian carnivores and vary from small to medium sized, which are less than fifteen kilograms. Mesocarnivores are seen today among the Canidae, Viverridae, Mustelidae, Procyonidae, Mephitidae, and Herpestidae. The red fox is also the most common of the mesocarnivores in Europe and has a high population density in the areas they reside.
  In North America, though some mesocarnivores, such as otters, lynx, or marten, are in danger of being over hunted for their pelts. This has led to efforts to help protect and conserve the mesocarnivores in the area which have been largely successful thus far. These animals play an essential role in the function and system of the ecosystem, since the elimination of apex predators.
  The American Institute of Biological Sciences states that due to the fact that mesocarnivores are smaller than large carnivore, they are more abundant, and therefore have a diversity of mesocarnivore species.
context_section_description: Mesocarnivore cheek teeth are heterodont and their different shapes reflect distinct functions. Incisors and canines are used to apprehend food and kill prey, pointed premolars pierce and hold prey, and molars are involved in both slicing and crushing functions. The slicing function of the molars is produced by occlusion between the carnassials, the lower first molar, and the upper fourth premolar.
  Mesocarnivores are first represented by the Miacidae. They are best represented by Prohesperocyon, with three incisors, one canine tooth, four premolars above. The jaw has three molars below, and two molars above on each side.
caption: Dentition
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