Knowra Amphicyonidae Amphicyonidae Amphicyonidae is an extinct family of carnivorous mammals known as bear-dogs, which lived from the Eocene to the Miocene. Its members combined traits associated with bears and dogs but belonged to neither group.
Carnivora : Carnivora is the mammalian order that includes cats, dogs, bears, seals, and their extinct relatives. Amphicyonids belong to this broader order, despite their bear-like and dog-like features.
Carnassial : A carnassial is a specialized upper and lower cheek-tooth pair that shears food in many carnivorans. Carnassial structure helps infer the meat-shearing abilities of particular amphicyonids.
Amphicyon : Amphicyon is an extinct genus of large bear-dogs known from Miocene deposits in Europe and elsewhere. This genus gives the family its name and includes some of its best-known members.
Eocene : The Eocene is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 34 million years ago. The family's fossil history begins in the Eocene.
Canidae : Canidae is the mammalian family that includes living dogs, wolves, foxes, and their extinct relatives. Bear-dogs resembled canids in some traits but belong to a separate extinct family.
Caniformia : Caniformia is a major branch of Carnivora that includes dogs, bears, mustelids, and pinnipeds. Amphicyonids are placed among caniform carnivorans, not within true dogs or bears.
Dentition : Dentition is the arrangement, number, and form of an animal's teeth. Differences in amphicyonid teeth help distinguish species and suggest dietary variation.
Daphoenodon : Daphoenodon is an extinct genus of bear-dogs known from North American fossil deposits. Its fossils document North American amphicyonids during the Oligocene and Miocene.
Oligocene : The Oligocene is a geological epoch that lasted from about 34 to 23 million years ago. Amphicyonids diversified during this interval as mammal communities changed.
Ursidae : Ursidae is the mammalian family that includes living bears and their extinct relatives. The bear-like appearance of some amphicyonids does not make them members of this family.
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