Palaeonictis
Encyclopedia
Palaeonictis is an extinct hyena
-like creodont predator belonging to the family Oxyaenidae
, existing from the late Paleocene
to the early Eocene
times. In life, it would have resembled a large modern wolverine
. This oxyaenid had heavy jaws and blunt robust teeth more suited for crushing bones, than slicing meat. This meant that the plantigrade Palaeonictis was at least a part time scavenger. The biggest species, Palaeonictis peloria (meaning "terrible ancient weasel") is known from an incomplete jaw that must have measured over 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in length. This animal was the largest carnivore in its ecosystem. , P. occidentalis (the size of a bear) evolved into the smaller P. wingi (the size of a coyote) within 200,000 years in the early Eocene due to global warming (paleoclimatology
). By the end of the middle Eocene , Palaeonictis disappeared from North America, and by the late Eocene the last species of P. gigantea had vanished from Europe. In fact, the entire Oxyaenidae family had become extinct world wide (although its sister group Hyaenodontidae continued to thrive for a while). This was due to increased competition from miacids and nimravids
belonging to the more successful Order Carnivora
, which eventually replaced Creodonta in the later Tertiary
as the worlds top predators.
Hyena
Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
-like creodont predator belonging to the family Oxyaenidae
Oxyaenidae
Oxyaenidae is a family of the extinct order Creodonta; it contains three subfamilies comprising ten genera. The placement of a fourth subfamily, Machaeroidinae, is unsure; it may belong here or in Hyaenodontidae....
, existing from the late 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 early 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...
times. In life, it would have resembled a large modern wolverine
Wolverine
The wolverine, pronounced , Gulo gulo , also referred to as glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, or quickhatch, is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae . It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, more closely resembling a small bear than other mustelids...
. This oxyaenid had heavy jaws and blunt robust teeth more suited for crushing bones, than slicing meat. This meant that the plantigrade Palaeonictis was at least a part time scavenger. The biggest species, Palaeonictis peloria (meaning "terrible ancient weasel") is known from an incomplete jaw that must have measured over 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in length. This animal was the largest carnivore in its ecosystem. , P. occidentalis (the size of a bear) evolved into the smaller P. wingi (the size of a coyote) within 200,000 years in the early Eocene due to global warming (paleoclimatology
Paleoclimatology
Paleoclimatology is the study of changes in climate taken on the scale of the entire history of Earth. It uses a variety of proxy methods from the Earth and life sciences to obtain data previously preserved within rocks, sediments, ice sheets, tree rings, corals, shells and microfossils; it then...
). By the end of the middle Eocene , Palaeonictis disappeared from North America, and by the late Eocene the last species of P. gigantea had vanished from Europe. In fact, the entire Oxyaenidae family had become extinct world wide (although its sister group Hyaenodontidae continued to thrive for a while). This was due to increased competition from miacids and nimravids
Nimravidae
The Nimravidae, sometimes known as false saber-toothed cats, are an extinct family of mammalian carnivores belonging to the suborder Feliformia and endemic to North America, Europe, and Asia living from the Eocene through the Miocene epochs , existing for approximately .-Morphology:Although some...
belonging to the more successful Order Carnivora
Carnivora
The diverse order Carnivora |Latin]] carō "flesh", + vorāre "to devour") includes over 260 species of placental mammals. Its members are formally referred to as carnivorans, while the word "carnivore" can refer to any meat-eating animal...
, which eventually replaced Creodonta in the later Tertiary
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
as the worlds top predators.