''Altacreodus'' (" creodont from Alberta") is an extinct genus of eutherian mammals. Fossils have been found 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 ...

where they first appeared during the Late Cretaceous, and they died out prior to the start of the Paleocene. The type species is "'' Cimolestes''" ''magnus'', which was renamed ''Altacreodus magnus'' in 2015. Recent phylogenetic analyses suggests that genus ''Altacreodus'' is a member of clade Pan-Carnivora and the closest known sister taxon to genus '' Tinerhodon'' and the order Hyaenodonta. In some studies its position as a crown-group placental has been equivocal.

Phylogeny

The phylogenetic relationships of genus ''Altacreodus'' are shown in the following cladogram.

References

Pan-Carnivora Prehistoric eutherians Cretaceous mammals of North America Hell Creek fauna Fossil taxa described in 2015 {{Cretaceous-mammal-stub