Oxyaenidae

Oxyaenidae Temporal range: Late Paleocene to Middle Eocene
skull of Palaeonictis occidentalis
reconstruction of Patriofelis ferox
Scientific classification
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. 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 first appeared during the late Paleocene in North America, with smaller radiations of oxyaenids in Eurasia occurring during the Eocene.

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".

Characteristics

Skull of Patriofelis ulta at Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris

They were superficially cat-like mammals that walked on flat feet, in contrast to modern cats, which walk and run on their toes. The largest known oxyaenid was Sarkastodon mongoliensis, which could’ve weighed 800 kg (1,800 lb). However, this may have been an overestimate. While many oxyaenids, such as Patriofelis, were carnivores, some such as Oxyaena, were omnivorous.

Many oxyaenids like Patriofelis, were adapted for terrestrial locomotion, however macheroidines were adapted for either scansorial or arboreal locomotion, based on their forelimb morphology.

Evolution

Oxyaenodonts were believed to have evolved in the middle Paleocene in North America with the oldest known oxyaenodont, Tytthaena, being found there. Oxyaenodonts would disperse into Europe near the Paleocene-Eocene boundary via the De Geer route, however the timing of arrival in Asia is unknown.

Classification and phylogeny

Taxonomy

Order: †Oxyaenodonta Van Valen, 1971 Family: †Oxyaenidae Cope, 1877 Subfamily: †Machaeroidinae Matthew, 1909 Genus: †Apataelurus Scott, 1938 †Apataelurus kayi Scott, 1938 †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: †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 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 †Oxyaena sp. [Europe] Solé, 2011 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, 193) †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

Cladogram according to Gunnel in 1991:

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

Temporal distribution

Within clade Pan-Carnivora

Within family Oxyaenidae

See also

• Mammal classification
• Ferae
• Creodonta

References

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