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Extinct family of mammals
Oxyaenidae ("sharp
hyenas ") is a
family of
extinct carnivorous
placental mammals.
[3] Traditionally classified in order
Creodonta , this group is now classified in its own order Oxyaenodonta ("sharp tooth hyenas") within clade
Pan-Carnivora in mirorder
Ferae . The group contains four subfamilies comprising fourteen genera. Oxyaenids were the first to appear during the late
Paleocene in
North America , while smaller radiations of oxyaenids in
Europe and
Asia occurred during the
Eocene .
[4]
Etymology
The name of order Oxyaenodonta comes from
Ancient Greek
ὀξύς- (oxús-) 'sharp', name of hyena genus
Hyaena and from
Ancient Greek
ὀδούς (odoús) 'tooth'.
The name of family Oxyaenidae comes from
Ancient Greek
ὀξύς- (oxús-) 'sharp', name of hyena genus Hyaena and taxonomic suffix "
-idae ".
[5]
Description
They were superficially cat-like mammals that
walked on flat feet , in contrast to modern
cats , 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.[
citation needed ]
Oxyaenids were specialized carnivores that preyed on other terrestrial vertebrates, eggs and insects. They were capable of climbing trees, which is suggested by
fossil evidence of their paws.[
citation needed ]
Classification and phylogeny
Taxonomy
Family: †Oxyaenidae (Cope, 1877)
Subfamily: †
Machaeroidinae (Matthew, 1909)
Genus: †
Apataelurus (Scott, 1937)
†Apataelurus kayi (Scott, 1937)
†Apataelurus pishigouensis (Tong & Lei, 1986)
Genus: †
Diegoaelurus (Zack, Poust & Wagner, 2022)
[6]
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)
Subfamily: †
Oxyaeninae (Cope, 1877)
Genus: †
Argillotherium (Davies, 1884)
†Argillotherium toliapicum (Davies, 1884)
Genus: †
Dipsalidictis (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)
[7]
†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 (Jepsen, 1930)
†Dipsalodon churchillorum (Rose, 1981)
†Dipsalodon matthewi (Jepsen, 1930)
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
Cladogram according to Gunnel in 1991:
[8]
Oxyaenidae
Dipsalidictis krausei
Dipsalidictis transiens
Dipsalidictis platypus
Dipsalidictis aequidens
Oxyaena gulo
Oxyaena intermedia
Oxyaena forcipata
See also
References
^ E. D. Cope (1877.) "Report upon the extinct Vertebrata obtained in New Mexico by parties of the expedition of 1874." Report upon United States Geographical Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian, in charge of First Lieut. G.M. Wheeler, Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, Vol. IV Paleontology, Part II, pp. 1-365. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
^ Van Valen, Leigh (1971).
"Adaptive Zones and the Orders of Mammals" . Evolution . 25 (2): 420–428.
doi :
10.1111/j.1558-5646.1971.tb01898.x .
PMID
28563121 .
^ Halliday, Thomas J. D.; Upchurch, Paul; Goswami, Anjali (2015).
"Resolving the relationships of Paleocene placental mammals" (PDF) . Biological Reviews . 92 (1): 521–550.
doi :
10.1111/brv.12242 .
ISSN
1464-7931 .
PMC
6849585 .
PMID
28075073 .
^ Gunnel, Gregg F.; Gingerich, Philip D. (30 Sep 1991).
"Systematics and evolution of late Paleocene and early Eocene Oxyaenidae (Mammalia, Creodonta) in the Clarks Fork Basin, Wyoming" (PDF) . Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology . 28 (7). The University of Michigan: 141–180. Retrieved 2010-01-03 .
^ Dixon, Dougal (2008). World Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures . Lorenz Books.
ISBN
978-0754817307 .
^ Zack, Shawn P.; Poust, Ashley W.; Wagner, Hugh (2022-03-15).
"Diegoaelurus , a new machaeroidine (Oxyaenidae) from the Santiago Formation (late Uintan) of southern California and the relationships of Machaeroidinae, the oldest group of sabertooth mammals" . PeerJ . 10 : e13032.
doi :
10.7717/peerj.13032 .
ISSN
2167-8359 .
PMC
8932314 .
PMID
35310159 .
S2CID
247480756 .
^ Stucky, R. K.; Hardy, T. G. (2007).
"A new large hypercarnivorous oxyaenid (Mammalia, Creodonta) from the Middle Eocene of the Wind River Formation, Natrona County, Wyoming" (PDF) . Bulletin of Carnegie Museum of Natural History . 39 : 57–65.
doi :
10.2992/0145-9058(2007)39[57:anlhom]2.0.co;2 .
S2CID
130956705 .
^ Gunnel, Gregg F.; Gingerich, Philip D. (1991).
"Systematics and evolution of late Paleocene and early Eocene Oxyaenidae (Mammalia, Creodonta) in the Clarks Fork Basin, Wyoming" (PDF) . Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology . 28 (7). The University of Michigan: 141–180.
Further reading
David Lambert and the Diagram Group. The Field Guide to Prehistoric Life. New York: Facts on File Publications, 1985.
ISBN
0-8160-1125-7
†Afro‑Arabian clade
other representatives
ichnotaxa of Hyaenodonta