Oxyaenidae

Oxyaenidae Temporal range: Middle Paleocene to late Eocene
Part of a Palaeonictis occidentalis skull at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	†Oxyaenodonta
Family:	†Oxyaenidae Cope, 1877
Subfamilies
†Ambloctoninae †Oxyaeninae †Tytthaeninae †Machaeroidinae

Oxyaenidae is a family of carnivorous mammals. Traditionally classified in Creodonta, this group may be related to pangolins. The group contains four subfamilies comprising thirteen genera. North American oxyaenids were the first creodonts to appear during the late Paleocene, while smaller radiations of oxyaenids in Europe and Asia occurred during the Eocene. They were superficially cat-like beasts that walked on flat feet, in contrast to modern cats, which walk or 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.

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.

Classification and phylogeny

Taxonomy

Restoration of Patriofelis by Charles Knight

• Order: †Oxyaenodonta (Van Valen, 1971)
  • Family: †Oxyaenidae (Cope, 1877)
    • Subfamily: †Machaeroidinae (Matthew, 1909)
      • Genus: †Apataelurus (Scott, 1937)
        • †Apataelurus kayi (Scott, 1937)
        • †Apataelurus pishigouensis (Tong & Lei, 1986)
      • 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 (Cope, 1877)
        • †Argillotherium toliapicum (Davies, 1884)
      • Genus: †Dipsalidictides (Denison, 1938)
        • †Dipsalidictides transiens (Matthew & Granger, 1915)
      • Genus: †Dipsalidictis (Matthew & Granger, 1915) <−−−[paraphyletic genus]
        • †Dipsalidictis aequidens (Matthew & Granger, 1915)
        • †Dipsalidictis krausei (Gunnell & Gingerich, 1991)
        • †Dipsalidictis platypus (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)
      • 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) <−−−[paraphyletic genus]
        • †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

The phylogenetic relationships of family Oxyaenidae are shown in the following cladogram:

Ferae

Pholidotamorpha  †Hyaenodonta  †Hyaenodonta (sensu stricto) †Altacreodus †Tinerhodon  sensu lato  Carnivoramorpha  †Oxyaenodonta   †Oxyaenidae   †Tytthaeninae   †Tytthaena  †Tytthaena parrisi †Tytthaena lichna  †Oxyaeninae   †Oxyaena  †Oxyaena intermedia †Oxyaena forcipata †Oxyaena gulo †Oxyaena lupina †Oxyaena simpsoni †Oxyaena pardalis †Oxyaena woutersi †Oxyaena sp.  †Argillotherium  †Argillotherium toliapicum  ?   †Sarkastodon  †Sarkastodon henanensis †Sarkastodon mongoliensis  †Malfelis  †Malfelis badwaterensis  †Protopsalis  †Protopsalis tigrinus  †Patriofelis  †Patriofelis ulta †Patriofelis ferox  †Dipsalidictides  †Dipsalidictides transiens †Dipsalidictis krausei †Dipsalidictis platypus †Dipsalidictis aequidens †Dipsalidictis  †Machaeroidinae   †Apataelurus  †Apataelurus kayi †Apataelurus pishigouensis †machaeroidinid sp. (CM 2386)  †Isphanatherium  †Isphanatherium ferganensis  ?   †Machaeroides  †Machaeroides eothen †Machaeroides simpsoni  †Palaeonictinae  †Dipsalodon churchillorum †Dipsalodon sp. (UM 71172) †Dipsalodon †Dipsalodon matthewi  †Ambloctonus  †Ambloctonus major †Ambloctonus priscus †Ambloctonus sinosus  †Palaeonictis  †Palaeonictis peloria †Palaeonictis gigantea †Palaeonictis wingi †Palaeonictis occidentalis

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