''Limnocyon'' ("swamp dog") is an 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 ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of limnocyonid

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 ...

that lived in North America during the middle

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'', " ...

. Fossils of this animal have been found in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...

.Paleobiology Database: ''Limnocyon''
/ref>

Description

''Limnocyon'' was a small omnivorous hyaenodontid, with some estimates placing it at less than 1 kg in weight. Like other limnocyonids, ''Limnocyon'' had only two molars in the upper and lower dentition.

Phylogeny

The phylogenetic relationships of genus ''Limnocyon'' are shown in the following cladogram.M. Morlo & G. F. Gunnell (2003.
"Small Limnocyonines (Hyaenodontidae, Mammalia) From the Bridgerian Middle Eocene of Wyoming: ''Thinocyon'', ''Prolimnocyon'' And ''Iridodon'', New Genus."
Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan 31(2):43-78

References

Hyaenodonts Eocene mammals Eocene mammals of North America Eocene genus first appearances Fossil taxa described in 1872 Prehistoric placental genera {{paleo-mammal-stub