Hyaenodonta

Hyaenodonta is an extinct order of mostly carnivorous mammals that lived from the Paleocene to the Miocene. Despite their names and some ecological resemblance, hyaenodonts were not members of the modern order Carnivora.

Mammalia: Mammalia is the class of vertebrates distinguished by traits including hair and milk-producing mammary glands. Hyaenodonts were mammals, sharing the defining ancestry and traits of this class.
Hyaenodont dentition: Hyaenodont dentition is the arrangement and specialized form of teeth in members of Hyaenodonta. The group’s characteristic shearing teeth are central to identifying its members and reconstructing their diets.
Hyaenodon: Hyaenodon is a genus of large, long-skulled hyaenodonts known from the Eocene and Oligocene. This widespread genus is among the best-known examples of the order’s large-bodied predators.
Carnivora: Carnivora is the mammalian order that includes cats, dogs, bears, seals, and their relatives. Hyaenodonts were separate from Carnivora despite occupying some similar predator niches.
Paleocene: The Paleocene is the geological epoch spanning about 66 to 56 million years ago. Hyaenodonts emerged during this epoch, after the end-Cretaceous extinction.
Placentalia: Placentalia is the major mammal group whose members develop embryos with a complex placenta. Hyaenodonts belonged to the placental mammal radiation.
Carnivory: Carnivory is a diet based primarily on consuming animal tissue. Most hyaenodonts were adapted to obtain food by hunting or scavenging animals.
Sinopa: Sinopa is a genus of relatively small hyaenodont mammals known from the Eocene of North America. Its smaller body size illustrates that hyaenodonts were not all giant predators.
Oxyaenidae: Oxyaenidae is an extinct family of predatory mammals that lived mainly during the Paleocene and Eocene. Oxyaenids were once grouped with hyaenodonts, but the two lineages are distinguished in modern classifications.
Eocene: The Eocene is the geological epoch spanning about 56 to 34 million years ago. Hyaenodont diversity expanded during the Eocene.

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