Hyopsodontidae is an extinct family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 of unspecialized, primitive mammal

Mammal

Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...

s from the Condylarthra order, living from the Paleocene

Paleocene

The Paleocene or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from about . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era...

 to the Eocene

Eocene

The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...

 in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 and Eurasia

Eurasia

Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...

They were generally small insectivorous animals. The most common genus is Hyopsodus

Hyopsodus

Hyopsodus is a genus of extinct condylarth mammal of the hyopsodontidae family. Fossils of this genus have been found in North America, especially the bighorn basin region of the United States. They are oftentimes nicknamed "tube sheep", due to their strange, weasel-like body....

.

All of them were small ungulates, their size ranging from that of a squirrel to that of a weasel. Although much more herbivorous in their diet than the
arctocyonids

Arctocyonidae

Arctocyonidae is an extinct family of unspecialized, primitive mammals with more than 20 genera most abundant during the Paleocene, but extant from the late Cretaceous to the early Eocene ....

, and lacking their powerful canines, the hyopsodontids still had a generalized dentition, with a full set of incisors, canines, premolars, and molars. During the Paleocene in Europe, they reached a high diversity level, starting with Louisina and Monshyus in Hainin and following in the Cernaysian beds with Tricuspiodon, Paratricuspiodon, and Paschatherium

Paschatherium

Paschatherium is a small extinct mammal of the condylarth order, with an insectivore-like dentition.Its morhpology indicates an arboreal form, adapted climbing and running on trees...

.

List of genera

Genera

Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with LMI and Texas Instruments...

• Aletodon
• Dorraletes
• Haplaletes
• Haplomylus
• Hyopsodus
  Hyopsodus
  Hyopsodus is a genus of extinct condylarth mammal of the hyopsodontidae family. Fossils of this genus have been found in North America, especially the bighorn basin region of the United States. They are oftentimes nicknamed "tube sheep", due to their strange, weasel-like body....
  
  
• Litomylus
• Microhyus
• Paratricuspiodon
• Paschatherium
  Paschatherium
  Paschatherium is a small extinct mammal of the condylarth order, with an insectivore-like dentition.Its morhpology indicates an arboreal form, adapted climbing and running on trees...
  
  
• Phenacodaptes
• Tricuspiodon