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CreodontaOxyaenidae
Hyaenodontidae
The creodonts were an extinct order of mammals that lived from the Paleocene to the Pliocene. They were previously considered ancestral to the carnivores, Carnivora, but are now considered to have shared a common ancestor. They were the dominant carniverous mammal from 55 to 35 MYA, sharing with the Carnivora the carnassial shear, scissor teeth that evolved to slice meat and gave both orders the tools to dominate the niche. The creodonts ranged across North America, Eurasia and Africa, in forms that resemble those of modern carnivores. Amongst their number was Megistotherium, the largest mammalian land predator of all time, the size of a bison and with a skull twice as big as a tiger's. Their dominance over the early carnivores, known as miacids, began to wane after 35 MYA. The creodonts survived until 8 million years ago, the last form, Dissopsalis, lived in Pakistan. References The Velvet Claw, A Natural History of the Carnivores, David Macdonald, BBC Books, 1992
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