Hyainailouridae

 ( Hyaenodonts ) 

Hyainailouridae ("hyena-like Felidae") is a Paraphyly family of extinct predatory mammals within the Polyphyly superfamily Hyaenodonta within extinct order Hyaenodonta. Hyainailourids 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.

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General characteristics Hyainailourids are characterized by long skulls, slender jaws, slim bodies, and a plantigrade stance. They generally ranged in size from 30 to 140 cm at the shoulder. While some measured as much as 1.4 m high at the shoulder with head-body length up to 3.2 m and weighed up to 500 kg, most were in the 5–15 kg range, equivalent to a mid-sized dog. The anatomy of their skulls show that they had a particularly acute sense of smell, while their teeth were adapted for shearing, rather than crushing.

At least one hyainailourid lineage, Apterodontinae, was specialised for aquatic, otter-like habits.

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Range The oldest member of the Hyainailouridae is Orienspterodon from the middle Eocene of China. They were important Hypercarnivore in Eurasia and Africa during the Oligocene, but gradually declined, with almost the entire family becoming extinct by the close of the Oligocene. Only Simbakubwa, Megistotherium and several of its sister genera, including Hyainailouros and Sivapterodon, survived into the Miocene. Traditionally this has been attributed to competition with , but no formal examination of the correlation between the decline of hyaenodontids and the expansion of carnivorans has been recorded, and the latter may simply have moved into vacant niches after the extinction of hyaenodontid species.

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Classification and phylogeny

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Relations Hyainailouridae used to be considered a subfamily of Hyaenodontidae, but cladistic study by Sole et al., (2013, 2015) treats it as a distinct family. Two subfamilies are recognized, Apterodontinae and Paraphyly Hyainailourinae.

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Taxonomy

Family: † Hyainailouridae (Paraphyly family) Subfamily: † Apterodontinae Genus: † Apterodon † Apterodon altidens † Apterodon gaudryi † Apterodon langebadreae † Apterodon macrognathus † Apterodon rauenbergensis † Apterodon saghensis † Apterodon sp. Dur Genus: † Quasiapterodon † Quasiapterodon minutus Subfamily: † Hyainailourinae (paraphyletic subfamily) Genus: † Ekweeconfractus † Ekweeconfractus amorui Genus: † Leakitherium † Leakitherium hiwegi Genus: † Megistotherium † Megistotherium osteothlastes Genus: † Mlanyama † Mlanyama sugu Genus: † Pakakali † Pakakali rukwaensis Genus: † Simbakubwa † Simbakubwa kutokaafrika Genus: † Thereutherium † Thereutherium thylacodes (unranked): † Akhnatenavus clade Genus: † Akhnatenavus † Akhnatenavus leptognathus † Akhnatenavus nefertiticyon Genus: † Hemipsalodon † Hemipsalodon grandis † Hemipsalodon viejaensis Genus: † Ischnognathus † Ischnognathus savagei (unranked): † Maocyon/ Orienspterodon clade Genus: † Maocyon † Maocyon peregrinus Genus: † Orienspterodon † Orienspterodon dahkoensis † Orienspterodon mianchiensis Tribe: † Hyainailourini (Polyphyly tribe) Genus: † Bastetodon † Bastetodon syrtos Genus: † Exiguodon † Exiguodon pilgrimi Genus: † Falcatodon † Falcatodon schlosseri Genus: † Hyainailouros (polyphyletic genus) † Hyainailouros bugtiensis † Hyainailouros napakensis † Hyainailouros sulzeri Genus: † Isohyaenodon (polyphyletic genus) † Isohyaenodon andrewsi † Isohyaenodon zadoki Genus: † Parapterodon † Parapterodon lostangensis Genus: † Sectisodon † Sectisodon markgrafi † Sectisodon occultus Genus: † Sekhmetops † Sekhmetops africanus † Sekhmetops phiomensis Genus: † Sivapterodon † Sivapterodon lahirii (unranked): † Pterodon clade Genus: † Kerberos † Kerberos langebadreae Genus: † Pterodon † Pterodon dasyuroides Incertae sedis: †"Pterodon" sp. DPC Tribe: † Genus: † Metapterodon † Metapterodon brachycephalus † Metapterodon kaiseri † Metapterodon stromeri Tribe: † Paroxyaena Genus: † Paroxyaena † Paroxyaena galliae † Paroxyaena pavlovi Incertae sedis: † "Pterodon" sp. ''BC †Hyainailourinae sp. ''GSN †Hyainailourinae sp. ''UON †Hyainailourinae sp. A ''DPC †Hyainailourinae sp. C ''DPC †Hyainailourinae sp. D ''DPC

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