page_title: Andrewsarchus
section_title: Taxonomy
hierarchical_section_title: Andrewsarchus / Taxonomy
caption_attribution_description: English: Mesonyx and Andrewsarchus skullРусский: Череп эндрюсарха - сравнение с черепом мезоникса, гризли, волка
context_page_description: Andrewsarchus is an extinct genus of mammal that lived during the middle Eocene epoch in what is now Inner Mongolia, China. Only one species is usually recognized, A. mongoliensis, known from a single skull of great size discovered in 1923 during the expeditions to central Asia by the American Museum of Natural History. Generally classified as a mesonychid since its original description, most recent studies classify it as an artiodactyl, in one study specifically, as a member of the clade Cetancodontamorpha, closely related to entelodonts, hippos and whales.
context_section_description: The only known skull was found at a locality in the lower levels of the middle Eocene Irdin Manha Formation of Inner Mongolia, by the paleontological assistant Kan Chuen Pao during the spring of the second year (1923) of the Central Asiatic Expeditions (CAE) of the AMNH, led by the explorer and naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews. The skull is now on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
  The genus name was dedicated to Roy Chapman Andrews by Osborn and it derives from the surname "Andrews" + Greek: ἀρχός (archos), "leader", "chief" or "commander". The species epithet mongoliensis refers to the region where the type material was found, Inner Mongolia.
  It was classified in the clade Mesonychia due to the similarity in structure between its teeth and skull with those of other mesonychid species known from complete skeletons, however, much of this was based only on Osborn's original publication, and more recent studies have found it to have no special mesonychid affinities, instead grouping it with various artiodactyl clades. Indeed, one study (Spaulding et al.) has not only found them to be closer to entelodonts, but as kin to Whippomorpha in the clade Cetacodontamorpha.
caption: Type skull of Andrewsarchus compared to those of other carnivores, from Osborn (1924)
exif: {"Image Tag 0x000B": "ACD Systems Digital Imaging"}