en Oxyaenidae

Oxyaenidae; Temporal range: 58.9–39.7 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Late Paleocene to Middle Eocene
	skull of Palaeonictis occidentalis
	reconstruction of Patriofelis ferox
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Mirorder:	Ferae
Clade:	Pan-Carnivora
Order:	†Oxyaenodonta; Van Valen, 1971
Family:	†Oxyaenidae; Cope, 1877
Type genus
	†Oxyaena; Cope, 1874
Subfamilies
	†Machaeroidinae; †Oxyaeninae; †Palaeonictinae; †Tytthaeninae;
Synonyms
	synonyms of order: Oxyaenida (Van Valkenburgh, 2007) ; synonyms of family: Oxyaenoidea (Osborn, 1910) ;

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

Order: †Oxyaenodonta (Van Valen, 1971)
- Family: †Oxyaenidae (Cope, 1877)
  - Subfamily: †Machaeroidinae (Matthew, 1909)
    - Genus: †Apataelurus (Scott, 1937)^{[full citation needed]}
      - †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)^{[full citation needed]}
      - 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)^{[full citation needed]}
      - †Argillotherium toliapicum (Davies, 1884)
    - Genus: †Dipsalidictis ^{(paraphyletic 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)^{[full citation needed]}
      - †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)^{[full citation needed]}
      - †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)^{[full citation needed]}
      - †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)
    - 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:^[6]

Oxyaenidae

	Tytthaena parrisi

	Tytthaena lichna

	Palaeonictis occidentalis

	Palaeonictis peloria

	Dipsalodon matthewi

	Dipsalodon churchillorum

Dipsalidictis krausei

Dipsalidictis transiens

	Dipsalidictis platypus

	Dipsalidictis aequidens

Oxyaena gulo

	Oxyaena intermedia

	Oxyaena forcipata

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.
^ 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.