''Paraenhydrocyon'' ("beside '' Enhydrocyon''") is an extinct genus of bone crushing

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

early

canid Canidae (; from Latin, '' canis'', " dog") is a biological family of dog-like carnivorans, colloquially referred to as dogs, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (). There are three subfamilies found withi ...

which inhabited North America during the Early

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), 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 mea ...

, 24.8—20.4 Ma, existing for approximately . The dentition suggests that this animal was a

hypercarnivore A hypercarnivore is an animal which has a diet that is more than 70% meat, either via active predation or by scavenging. The remaining non-meat diet may consist of non-animal foods such as fungi, fruits or other plant material. Some extant exam ...

mesocarnivore A mesocarnivore is an animal whose diet consists of 50–70% meat with the balance consisting of non-vertebrate foods which may include insects, fungi, fruits, other plant material and any food that is available to them. Mesocarnivores are from a ...

.R. M. Nowak. 1991. Walker's Mammals of the World. Maryland, Johns Hopkins University Press (edited volume) II In addition to its retention of several primitive cranial characters, this includes unique sharp-tipped, slender premolars that clearly contrast with the strong premolars of the ''

Mesocyon ''Mesocyon'' ("middle dog") is an extinct genus of the Hesperocyoninae subfamily of early canids native to North America. It lived from the Oligocene to Early Miocene, 30.3—20.3 Annum, Ma, existing for approximately . Fossils are known from Ore ...

''–'' Enhydrocyon'' group, but also parallels that clade by having a reduced metaconid

cusp A cusp is the most pointed end of a curve. It often refers to cusp (anatomy), a pointed structure on a tooth. Cusp or CUSP may also refer to: Mathematics * Cusp (singularity), a singular point of a curve * Cusp catastrophe, a branch of bifurc ...

on the lower molars.

References

Hesperocyonines Oligocene carnivorans Aquitanian genus extinctions Prehistoric mammals of North America Prehistoric carnivoran genera Rupelian genus first appearances {{canid-stub