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[2]
Family:	†Oxyaenidae Cope, 1877[1]
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]

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]

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]}

• 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)

Cladogram according to Gunnel in 1991:^[6]

• Mammal classification
• Ferae
• Creodonta

• David Lambert and the Diagram Group. The Field Guide to Prehistoric Life. New York: Facts on File Publications, 1985. ISBN 0-8160-1125-7