Hyainailouridae

Hyainailouridae
Temporal range: 47.8–11.3 Ma middle Eocene to middle Miocene
Comparison of various Early to Middle Miocene hyaenodonts, including the hyainailurids Hyainailouros sulzeri (top) and Megistotherium osteothlastes (center), and teratodontid Dissopsalis pyroclasticus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: †Hyaenodonta
Superfamily: †Hyainailouroidea
Family: †Hyainailouridae
Pilgrim, 1932[1]
Type genus
†Hyainailouros
(polyphyletic genus)
Biedermann, 1863
Subfamilies
[see classification]
Synonyms
  • Hyaenaelurinae (Pilgrim, 1932)
  • Pterodontidae (Polly, 1996)[2]
  • Pterodontinae (Polly, 1996)

Hyainailouridae ("hyena-cats") is a family of extinct predatory mammals within the superfamily Hyainailouroidea within extinct order Hyaenodonta. Hyaenodontids arose during the middle Eocene and persisted well into the middle Miocene. Fossils of this group have been found in Asia, Africa, North America and Europe.

  1. ^ Pilgrim G. E. (1932). "The fossil Carnivora of India. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India". Palaeontologica Indica. 18 (1–232). doi:10.1017/S0016756800096448. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023.
  2. ^ P. D. Polly (1996). "The skeleton of Gazinocyon vulpeculus gen. et. comb nov. and the cladistic relationships of Hyaenodontidae (Eutheria, Mammalia)" (PDF). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 16 (2): 303–319. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 25, 2023.