''Mentoclaenodon'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of arctocyonid

ungulate Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Ungulata which primarily consists of large mammals with hooves. These include odd-toed ungulates such as horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs; and even-toed ungulates such as cattle, pigs, giraffes, cam ...

mammals. ''Mentoclaenodon'' had large upper canines comparable to the "saber-teeth" of various

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

and

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

feliform Feliformia is a suborder within the order Carnivora consisting of "cat-like" carnivorans, including cats (large and small), hyenas, mongooses, viverrids, and related taxa. Feliformia stands in contrast to the other suborder of Carnivora, Caniform ...

saber-toothed cats Sabretooth or sabertooth may refer to: Animals * Saber-toothed cat, several prehistoric felines ** ''Smilodon'', a prehistoric genus of felidae * Sabertooth fish, a deep-sea fish found in the tropics ** Sabre-toothed blenny, ''Aspidontus taenia ...

. This genus and its sister-genus '' Anacodon'', and the oxyaenid ''

Machaeroides ''Machaeroides'' ("dagger-like") is a genus of sabre-toothed predatory mammal that lived during the Eocene (54.9 to 46.2 mya). Its fossils were found in the U.S. state of Wyoming. Description Both species bore a passing or superficial resemblance ...

''were the first true mammals to develop saber-teeth. (The various saber-tooth

gorgonopsia Gorgonopsia (from the Greek Gorgon, a mythological beast, and 'aspect') is an extinct clade of sabre-toothed therapsids from the Middle to Upper Permian roughly 265 to 252 million years ago. They are characterised by a long and narrow skull, a ...

n genera, such as ''

Inostrancevia ''Inostrancevia'' is an extinct genus of carnivorous therapsids, containing the largest members of gorgonopsians, predators characterized by long, saber-tooth-like canines. The various species inhabited European Russia during the Upper Tatarian ...

'' and '' Ruhuhucerberus'', are regarded as "stem-mammals" that are close relatives of true mammals). Fossils of ''Mentoclaenodon'' are found in late Paleocene-aged strata of Cernay, France, and in strata of Walbeck, Germany. The average estimated skull length is 15 cm. ''Mentoclaenodon'' is one of the largest European mammals during the Paleocene. It is also thought to be one of the earliest known Cenozoic-aged mammalian predators that would have preyed on other mammals. ''Mentoclaenodon ''and its ancestors reigned from the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

to the

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), E ...

. By the early Eocene the arctocyonids were supplanted by the

hyaenodonts Hyaenodontidae ("hyena teeth") is a family of extinct predatory mammals from extinct superfamily Hyaenodontoidea within extinct order Hyaenodonta. Hyaenodontids arose during the early Eocene and persisted well into the early Miocene. Fossils of t ...

mesonychia Mesonychia ("middle claws") is an extinct taxon of small- to large-sized carnivorous ungulates related to artiodactyls. Mesonychids first appeared in the early Paleocene, went into a sharp decline at the end of the Eocene, and died out entirely ...

ns and the early

carnivora Carnivora is a Clade, monophyletic order of Placentalia, placental mammals consisting of the most recent common ancestor of all felidae, cat-like and canidae, dog-like animals, and all descendants of that ancestor. Members of this group are f ...

ns such as ''

Miacis ''Miacis'' is a genus of extinct carnivorous mammals that appeared in the late Paleocene and continued through the Eocene. The genus ''Miacis'' is not monophyletic but a diverse collection of species that belong to the stemgroup within the Ca ...

''.

References

* The Book of Life. Stephen Jay Gould. John Barber. Peter Andrews.Norton, W.W.& Company,Inc. 2001

External links

Paleocene mammals of the World
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3854756 Condylarths Paleocene mammals Paleogene animals of Europe Prehistoric placental genera