Oxyaenidae ("sharp
hyena
Hyenas, or hyaenas (from Ancient Greek , ), are feliform carnivoran mammals of the family Hyaenidae . With only four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the Carnivora and one of the smallest in the clas ...
s") is a
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
of
extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
carnivorous
placental mammals.
Traditionally classified in order
Creodonta, this group is now classified in its own order Oxyaenodonta ("sharp tooth hyenas") within clade
Pan-Carnivora
Ferae ( , , "wild beasts") is a mirorder of placental mammalsMalcolm C. McKenna, Susan K. Bell: ''Classification of Mammals: Above the Species Level'' in Columbia University Press, New York (1997), 631 Seiten. that groups together clades Pan-Ca ...
in mirorder
Ferae
Ferae ( , , "wild beasts") is a mirorder of placental mammalsMalcolm C. McKenna, Susan K. Bell: ''Classification of Mammals: Above the Species Level'' in Columbia University Press, New York (1997), 631 Seiten. that groups together clades Pan-Ca ...
. The group contains four subfamilies comprising fourteen genera. Oxyaenids were the first to appear during the late
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 ...
in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, while smaller radiations of oxyaenids in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
occurred during the
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
.
Etymology
The name of order Oxyaenodonta comes , name of hyena genus ''
Hyaena'' and .
The name of family Oxyaenidae comes , name of hyena genus ''Hyaena'' and taxonomic suffix "
-idae".
Description
They were superficially cat-like mammals that
walked on flat feet, in contrast to modern
cats
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...
, which
walk and run on their toes. Anatomically, characteristic features include a short, broad skull, deep jaws, and teeth designed for crushing rather than shearing, as in 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 ...
or modern cats.
Oxyaenids were specialized carnivores that preyed on other terrestrial vertebrates, eggs and insects. They were capable of climbing trees, which is suggested by
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
evidence of their paws.
Classification and phylogeny
Taxonomy
* Order: †Oxyaenodonta
(Van Valen, 1971)
** Family: †Oxyaenidae
(Cope, 1877)
*** Subfamily: †
Machaeroidinae
Machaeroidinae ("dagger-like") is a Family (biology), subfamily of extinct carnivorous Saber-toothed cat, sabre-toothed Placentalia, placental mammals from Asia and North America.Malcolm C. McKenna, Susan K. Bell: ''Classification of Mammals: Ab ...
(Matthew, 1909)
**** Genus: †''
Apataelurus''
(Scott, 1937)
***** †''Apataelurus kayi''
(Scott, 1937)
***** †''Apataelurus pishigouensis''
(Tong & Lei, 1986)
**** Genus: †''
Diegoaelurus
''Diegoaelurus'' ("San Diego's cat") is a Extinction, extinct genus of mammals from the extinct subfamily Machaeroidinae within extinct family Oxyaenidae. This genus currently contains only one species ''Diegoaelurus vanvalkenburghae'', found i ...
''
(Zack, Poust & Wagner, 2022)
***** ''Diegoaelurus vanvalkenburghae''
(Zack, Poust & Wagner, 2022)
**** Genus: †''
Isphanatherium''
(Lavrov & Averianov, 1998)
***** ''Isphanatherium ferganensis''
(Lavrov & Averianov, 1998)
**** Genus: †''
Machaeroides''
(Matthew, 1909)
***** †''Machaeroides eothen''
(Matthew, 1909)
***** †''Machaeroides simpsoni''
(Dawson, 1986)
**** ''
Incertae sedis'':
***** †
Machaeroidinae sp. (''CM 2386'') (Zack, 2019)
***** †
Machaeroidinae sp. (''FMNH PM 1506'') (Tomiya, 2021)
***** †
Machaeroidinae sp. (''USNM 173514'') (Zack, 2019)
*** Subfamily: †
Oxyaeninae
Oxyaeninae ("sharp hyenas") is a extinct subfamily of oxyaenids from the late Paleocene to late Eocene of Asia, Europe and North America.Malcolm C. McKenna, Susan K. Bell: ''Classification of Mammals: Above the Species Level'' in Columbia Univer ...
(Cope, 1877)
**** Genus: †''
Argillotherium''
(Davies, 1884)
***** †''Argillotherium toliapicum''
(Davies, 1884)
**** Genus: †''
Dipsalidictis''
(paraphyletic
In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...
genus) (Matthew & Granger, 1915)
***** †''Dipsalidictis aequidens''
(Matthew & Granger, 1915)
***** †''Dipsalidictis krausei''
(Gunnell & Gingerich, 1991)
***** †''Dipsalidictis platypus''
(Matthew & Granger, 1915)
***** †''Dipsalidictis transiens''
(Matthew & Granger, 1915)
**** Genus: †''
Malfelis''
(Stucky & Hardy, 2007)
***** †''Malfelis badwaterensis''
(Stucky & Hardy, 2007)
**** Genus: †''
Oxyaena
''Oxyaena'' ("sharp hyena") is an extinct genus of oxyaenid mammal from early Eocene of Europe, Asia and North America (most specimens being found in Colorado).
Etymology
The name of the genus translates as "sharp hyaena" ( and name of hyen ...
''
(Cope, 1874)
***** †''Oxyaena forcipata''
(Cope, 1874)
***** †''Oxyaena gulo''
(Matthew & Granger, 1915)
***** †''Oxyaena intermedia''
(Denison, 1938)
***** †''Oxyaena lupina''
(Cope, 1874)
***** †''Oxyaena pardalis''
(Matthew & Granger, 1915)
***** †''Oxyaena simpsoni''
(Van Valen, 1966)
***** †''Oxyaena woutersi''
(Lange-Badré & Godinot, 1982)
**** Genus: †''
Patriofelis
''Patriofelis'' ("father of cats") was a large, cat-like oxyaenid of middle Eocene in North America. It was around long, not including the tail, and weighed about 40–90 kg, making it around the same size as a modern cougar. It had sh ...
''
(Leidy, 1870)
***** †''Patriofelis ferox''
(Marsh, 1872)
***** †''Patriofelis ulta''
(Leidy, 1870)
**** Genus: †''
Protopsalis''
(Cope, 1880)
***** †''Protopsalis tigrinus''
(Cope, 1880)
**** Genus: †''
Sarkastodon''
(Granger, 1938)
***** †''Sarkastodon henanensis''
(Tong & Lei, 1986)
***** †''Sarkastodon mongoliensis''
(Granger, 1938)
*** Subfamily: †
Palaeonictinae
Palaeonictinae ("ancient weasels") is a extinct subfamily of oxyaenids from the late Paleocene to early Eocene of Europe and North America.
Classification and phylogeny Taxonomy
* Subfamily: †Palaeonictinae (Denison, 1938)
** Genus: †'' ...
(Denison, 1938)
**** Genus: †''
Ambloctonus''
(Cope, 1875)
***** †''Ambloctonus major''
(Denison, 1938)
***** †''Ambloctonus priscus''
(Matthew & Granger, 1915)
***** †''Ambloctonus sinosus''
(Cope, 1875)
**** Genus: †''
Dipsalodon''
(paraphyletic genus) (Jepsen, 1930)
***** †''Dipsalodon churchillorum''
(Rose, 1981)
***** †''Dipsalodon matthewi''
(Jepsen, 1930)
***** †''Dipsalodon'' sp. (''UM 71172'')
(Rose, 1981)
**** Genus: †''
Palaeonictis
''Palaeonictis'' ("ancient weasel") is an extinct predatory mammal belonging to the family Oxyaenidae, existing from the late Paleocene to the early Eocene in Europe and North America.
Description
In life, it would have resembled a large mod ...
''
(de Blainville, 1842)
***** †''Palaeonictis gigantea''
(de Blainville, 1842)
***** †''Palaeonictis occidentalis''
(Osborn, 1892)
***** †''Palaeonictis peloria''
(Rose, 1981)
***** †''Palaeonictis wingi''
(Chester, 2010)
*** Subfamily: †
Tytthaeninae (Gunnell & Gingerich, 1991)
**** Genus: †''
Tytthaena
''Tytthaena'' ("little hyena") is an extinct genus of oxyaenids from subfamily Tytthaeninae. It lived during the late Paleocene to early Eocene in North America. Two species are known, ''T. parrisi'' and ''T. lichna''.
Description
''Tytthaena' ...
''
(Gingerich, 1980)
***** †''Tytthaena lichna''
(Rose, 1981)
***** †''Tytthaena parrisi''
(Gingerich, 1980)
Phylogeny
The phylogenetic relationships of family Oxyaenidae are shown in the following cladogram:
[F. Solé, E. Gheerbrant, and M. Godinot. (2011.]
"New data on the Oxyaenidae from the Early Eocene of Europe; biostratigraphic, paleobiogeographic and paleoecologic implications."
Palaeontologia Electronica 14(2):13A:1-41[Prevosti, F. J., & Forasiepi, A. M. (2018)]
"Introduction. Evolution of South American Mammalian Predators During the Cenozoic: Paleobiogeographic and Paleoenvironmental Contingencies"
/ref>
See also
* Mammal classification
* Ferae
Ferae ( , , "wild beasts") is a mirorder of placental mammalsMalcolm C. McKenna, Susan K. Bell: ''Classification of Mammals: Above the Species Level'' in Columbia University Press, New York (1997), 631 Seiten. that groups together clades Pan-Ca ...
* Creodonta
References
Further reading
* David Lambert and the Diagram Group. ''The Field Guide to Prehistoric Life.'' New York: Facts on File Publications, 1985.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q135474
Prehistoric mammal families
Pan-Carnivora