Arctocyonians
Temporal range: Early Paleocene–Early Eocene
Fossils of Arctocyon primaevus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Clade: Paraxonia
Order: †Arctocyonia
Van Valen, 1966
Families

†Arctocyonidae
†Oxyclaenidae
†Quettacyonidae

Arctocyonians (Arctocyonia; also known as "Procreodi") are a clade of laurasiatherian[citation needed] mammals whose stratigraphic range runs from the Palaeocene to the Early Eocene epochs. They were among the earliest examples of major mammalian predators after the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. While some classify arctocyonians as stem-artiodactyls,[1][2] others have classified the group as members of Ferae.[3] There are three families classified in the order: Arctocyonidae, Oxyclaenidae, and Quettacyonidae.

References

  1. ^ McKenna, M. C. (1975). "Toward a phylogenetic classification of the Mammalia". In Luckett, W. P.; Szalay, F. S. (eds.). Phylogeny of the Primates. New York: Plenum. pp. 21–46.
  2. ^ De Bast, Eric; Smith, Thierry (2012-10-31). "Reassessment of the small 'arctocyonid' Prolatidens waudruae from the Early Paleocene of Belgium, and its phylogenetic relationships with ungulate-like mammals". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 33 (4): 964–976. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.747531. S2CID 86402154. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  3. ^ Halliday, Thomas J. D.; Upchurch, Paul; Goswami, Anjali (2015). "Resolving the relationships of Paleocene placental mammals" (PDF). Biological Reviews. 92 (1): 521–550. doi:10.1111/brv.12242. ISSN 1464-7931. PMC 6849585. PMID 28075073.


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