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 group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...
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
Placental mammals (infraclass Placentalia ) are one of the three extant subdivisions of the class Mammalia, the other two being Monotremata and Marsupialia. Placentalia contains the vast majority of extant mammals, which are partly distinguishe ...
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-C ...
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-C ...
. 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 that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''palai ...
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 C ...
, while smaller radiations of oxyaenids in
Europe 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 that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "da ...
.
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 ...
, 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 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''
(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
' () 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, uncertaint ...
'':
***** †
Machaeroidinae sp. (''CM 2386'') (Zack, 2019)
***** †
Machaeroidinae sp. (''FMNH PM 1506'') (Tomiya, 2021)
***** †
Machaeroidinae sp. (''USNM 173514'') (Zack, 2019)
*** Subfamily: †
Oxyaeninae (Cope, 1877)
**** Genus: †''
Argillotherium''
(Davies, 1884)
***** †''Argillotherium toliapicum''
(Davies, 1884)
**** Genus: †''
Dipsalidictis''
(paraphyletic
In taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In ...
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''
(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''
(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 (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''
(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''
(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
Mammalia is a class of animal within the phylum Chordata. Mammal classification has been through several iterations since Carl Linnaeus initially defined the class. No classification system is universally accepted; McKenna & Bell (1997) and Wilso ...
* 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-C ...
* 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