Protomarctus

{{Short description|Extinct genus of carnivores}}

{{Speciesbox

| fossil_range = {{fossil range|Early Miocene}}

| display_parents = 3

| genus = Protomarctus

| parent_authority = Wang et al., 1999

| species = optatus

| authority = Matthew, 1924

}}

Protomarctus is an extinct monospecific genus of the Borophaginae subfamily of canids native to North America. They lived during the Middle Miocene 16.0—13.6 Mya, existing for approximately {{Mya|16.0-13.6|million years}}.[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=41239 PaleoBiology Database: Protomarctus] It was an intermediate-size canid, and more predaceous than earlier borophagines.{{cite book |last1= Wang |first1= Xiaoming | last2= Tedford | first2= Richard H. | date= 2008 |title= Dogs, Their Fossil Relatives and Evolutionary History |publisher= Columbia |page= 35 |isbn= 978-0-231-13528-3}}

The first specimen was found in Thomson Quarry, Sheep Creek Formation, Nebraska in a Hemingfordian layer. Specimens have since been found in present-day Colorado, as far west as California and as far southwest as New Mexico. They were short-faced, heavy-jawed canines.{{cn|date=April 2019}}