Hyainailourinae

Extinct subfamily of mammals From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hyainailourinae ("hyena-like cats") is a paraphyletic subfamily of hyaenodonts from extinct paraphyletic family Hyainailouridae. They arose during the Middle Eocene in Asia,[5] and persisted well into the Late Miocene. Fossils of this group have been found in Africa, Eurasia, and North America.[6][7][8][5][9][10]

Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Infraclass:Placentalia
Order:†Hyaenodonta
Quick facts Scientific classification, Type genus ...
Hyainailourinae
Temporal range: Middle Eocene to Late Miocene47.8–11.4 Ma
Megistotherium osteothlastes life restoration
Pterodon dasyuroides cranium and mandible
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Placentalia
Order: †Hyaenodonta
Superfamily: †Hyainailouroidea
Family: †Hyainailouridae
Subfamily: †Hyainailourinae
Pilgrim, 1932[1]
Type genus
†Hyainailouros
(polyphyletic genus)
Biedermann, 1863
Genera
[see classification]
Synonyms
  • Hyaenaelurinae (Pilgrim, 1932)
  • Hyaninailourinae (Peigné, 2007)[2]
  • Hyaninailourini (Ginsburg, 1980)[3]
  • Pterodontinae (Polly, 1996)[4]
Close

General characteristics

Hyainailourins 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,[11] 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.

Classification and phylogeny

Taxonomy

  • Subfamily: †Hyainailourinae (paraphyletic subfamily) (Pilgrim, 1932)
    • Genus: †Ekweeconfractus (Savage, 1973)
      • †Ekweeconfractus amorui (Flink, 2021)
    • Genus: †Leakitherium (Savage, 1965)
      • †Leakitherium hiwegi (Savage, 1965)
    • Genus: †Megistotherium (Savage, 1973)
      • †Megistotherium osteothlastes (Savage, 1973)
    • Genus: †Mlanyama (Rasmussen & Gutierrez, 2009)
      • †Mlanyama sugu (Rasmussen & Gutierrez, 2009)
    • Genus: †Pakakali[10](Borths & Stevens, 2017)
      • †Pakakali rukwaensis (Borths & Stevens, 2017)
    • Genus: †Simbakubwa (Borths & Stevens, 2019)
      • †Simbakubwa kutokaafrika (Borths & Stevens, 2019)
    • Genus: †Thereutherium (Filhol, 1876)
      • †Thereutherium thylacodes (Filhol, 1876)
    • (unranked): †Akhnatenavus clade
      • Genus: †Akhnatenavus (Holroyd, 1999)
        • †Akhnatenavus leptognathus (Osborn, 1909)
        • †Akhnatenavus nefertiticyon (Borths, 2016)
      • Genus: †Hemipsalodon (Cope, 1885)
        • †Hemipsalodon grandis (Cope, 1885)
        • †Hemipsalodon viejaensis (Gustafson, 1986)
      • Genus: †Ischnognathus (Stovall, 1948)
        • †Ischnognathus savagei (Stovall, 1948)
    • (unranked): †Maocyon/Orienspterodon clade
      • Genus: †Maocyon (Averianov, 2023)
        • †Maocyon peregrinus (Averianov, 2023)
      • Genus: †Orienspterodon (Egi, 2007)
        • †Orienspterodon dahkoensis (Chow, 1975)
        • †Orienspterodon mianchiensis (Sheng, Bi & Li, 2024)
    • Tribe: †Hyainailourini ( Polyphyletic tribe) (Ginsburg, 1980)
      • Genus: †Bastetodon (Al-Ashqar, 2025)
        • †Bastetodon syrtos (Holroyd, 1999)
      • Genus: †Exiguodon (Morales & Pickford, 2017)
        • †Exiguodon pilgrimi (Savage, 1965)
      • Genus: †Falcatodon (Morales & Pickford, 2017)
        • †Falcatodon schlosseri (Holroyd, 1999)
      • Genus: †Hyainailouros (Paraphyletic genus) (Biedermann, 1863)
        • †Hyainailouros bugtiensis (Pilgrim, 1912)
        • †Hyainailouros napakensis (Ginsburg, 1980)
        • †Hyainailouros sulzeri (Biedermann, 1863)
      • Genus: †Isohyaenodon (polyphyletic genus) (Savage, 1965)
        • †Isohyaenodon andrewsi (Savage, 1965)
        • †Isohyaenodon zadoki (Savage, 1965)
      • Genus: †Parapterodon (Lange-Badré, 1979)
        • †Parapterodon lostangensis (Lange-Badré, 1979)
      • Genus: †Sectisodon (Morales & Pickford, 2017)
        • †Sectisodon markgrafi (Holroyd, 1999)
        • †Sectisodon occultus (Morales & Pickford, 2017)
      • Genus: †Sekhmetops (Al-Ashqar, 2025)
        • †Sekhmetops africanus (Andrews, 1903)
        • †Sekhmetops phiomensis (Osborn, 1909)
      • Genus: †Sivapterodon (Ginsburg, 1980)
        • †Sivapterodon lahirii (Pilgrim, 1932)
      • (unranked): †Pterodon clade
        • Genus: †Kerberos (Solé, 2015)
          • †Kerberos langebadreae (Solé, 2015)
        • Genus: †Pterodon (Blainville, 1839)
          • †Pterodon dasyuroides (Blainville, 1839)
      • Incertae sedis:
        • †"Pterodon" sp. [DPC 5036] (Holroyd, 1999)
    • Tribe: †Metapterodontini (Morales & Pickford, 2017)
      • Genus: †Metapterodon (Stromer, 1926)
        • †Metapterodon anari (Mahmood, 2026)
        • †Metapterodon brachycephalus (Osborn, 1909)
        • †Metapterodon kaiseri (Stromer, 1926)
        • †Metapterodon stromeri (Morales, 1998)
    • Tribe: †Paroxyaenini (Lavrov, 2007)
      • Genus: †Paroxyaena (Martin, 1906)
        • †Paroxyaena galliae (Filhol, 1881)
        • †Paroxyaena pavlovi (Lavrov, 2007)
    • Incertae sedis:
      • †"Pterodon" sp. [BC 15'08] (Pickford, 2008)
      • †Hyainailourinae sp. [GSN AD 100'96] (Morales, 1998)
      • †Hyainailourinae sp. [UON 84-359] (Solé, 2016)
      • †Hyainailourinae sp. A [DPC 6555] (Holroyd, 1999)
      • †Hyainailourinae sp. C [DPC 9243 & DPC 10315] (Holroyd, 1999)
      • †Hyainailourinae sp. D [DPC 6545] (Holroyd, 1999)

References

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