Teratodontidae ("monstrous teeth") is a family of extinct predatory

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s from extinct

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 ...

superfamily

Hyainailouroidea Hyainailouroidea (" hyena- cats") is a paraphyletic superfamily of extinct predatory mammals from extinct order Hyaenodonta. Fossil remains of these mammals are known from middle Eocene to late Miocene deposits in North America, Europe, Africa an ...

within extinct order

Hyaenodonta Hyaenodonta (" hyena teeth") is an extinct order of hypercarnivorous placental pan-carnivoran mammals from mirorder Ferae. Hyaenodonts were important mammalian predators that arose during the early Paleocene in Europe and persisted well into the ...

. Fossil remains of these mammals are known from Middle

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' ...

to Late

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 ...

deposits in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...

, 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 ...

Etymology

The name of the family and subfamily translates as "monstrous teeth" (, and taxonomic suffixes " -idae" and " -inae".

Classification and phylogeny

Taxonomy

* Family: †Teratodontidae ** Subfamily: †Teratodontinae *** Genus: †'' Anasinopa'' **** †''Anasinopa haasi'' **** †''Anasinopa leakeyi'' **** †''Anasinopa libyca'' **** †''Anasinopa napaki'' *** Genus: †'' Brychotherium'' **** †''Brychotherium atrox'' **** †''Brychotherium ephalmos'' *** Genus: †'' Ekweeconfractus'' **** †''Ekweeconfractus amorui'' *** Genus: †'' Masrasector'' **** †''Masrasector aegypticum'' **** †''Masrasector ligabuei'' **** †''Masrasector nananubis'' **** †''Masrasector pithecodacos'' *** Genus: †'' Metasinopa'' **** †''Metasinopa ethiopica'' **** †''Metasinopa fraasii'' **** †''Metasinopa osborni'' **** †''Metasinopa'' sp. 'DPC 4544 & DPC 10199'' *** Tribe: †

Dissopsalini Dissopsalini ("double scissors") is a extinct tribe of teratodontid hyaenodonts. Fossil remains of these mammals are known from early to late Miocene deposits in Asia and Africa. Classification and phylogeny Taxonomy * Tribe: †Dissopsalini * ...

**** Genus: †'' Buhakia'' ***** †''Buhakia hyaenoides'' ***** †''Buhakia moghraensis'' ***** †''Buhakia'' sp. I arungu, Kenya ***** †''Buhakia'' sp. II 'GSN GT VI 22’17'' **** Genus: †''

Dissopsalis ''Dissopsalis'' ("double scissors") is a genus of teratodontine hyaenodonts of the tribe Dissopsalini. The older species, ''D. pyroclasticus'', lived in Kenya during the middle Miocene, while the type species, ''D. carnifex'', lived in Pakista ...

'' ***** †''Dissopsalis carnifex'' ***** †''Dissopsalis pyroclasticus'' *** Tribe: † Teratodontini **** Genus: †'' Teratodon'' ***** †''Teratodon enigmae'' ***** †''Teratodon spekei'' ***** †''Teratodon'' sp. 'DPC 8999'' *** ''

Incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty ...

'': **** † Teratodontinae sp. (''BC 2’08'') **** † Teratodontinae sp. (''CBI-1-614'')

Phylogeny

The phylogenetic relationships of family Teratodontidae are shown in the following cladogram:

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q34513937 Hyaenodonts Cenozoic mammals of Africa Cenozoic mammals of Asia