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Miacoidea
 
 
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Miacoidea is an extinct paraphyletic superfamily
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 that has been traditionally divided into two families
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 of carnivores: Miacidae (the miacids) and Viverravidae. They were primitive carnivore
Carnivore

A carnivore , meaning 'meat eater' , is any animal with a diet consisting mainly of meat, whether it comes from animals living or dead .In a more general sense, an animal may be considered a carnivore if it prefers feeding on animal matter over plant matter....
s which lived during the Paleocene
Paleocene

The Paleocene or Palaeocene, "early dawn of the recent" is a geologic epoch that lasted from 65.5 ? 0.3 Mega-annum to 55.8 ? 0.2 Ma . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic era ....
 and Eocene
Eocene

The Eocene Geologic time scale is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Palaeogene period in the Cenozoic era....
 Epoch about 33-65 million years ago. Today, Miacoidea is recognized as a paraphyletic array of stem taxa that probably resulted in some "miacoid" genera ending up just outside the order Carnivora
Carnivora

The diverse Order Carnivora includes over 260 species of eutheria mammals. Its members are formally referred to as carnivorans, while the word "carnivore" can refer to any meat-eating animal....
.






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Miacoidea is an extinct paraphyletic superfamily
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 that has been traditionally divided into two families
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 of carnivores: Miacidae (the miacids) and Viverravidae. They were primitive carnivore
Carnivore

A carnivore , meaning 'meat eater' , is any animal with a diet consisting mainly of meat, whether it comes from animals living or dead .In a more general sense, an animal may be considered a carnivore if it prefers feeding on animal matter over plant matter....
s which lived during the Paleocene
Paleocene

The Paleocene or Palaeocene, "early dawn of the recent" is a geologic epoch that lasted from 65.5 ? 0.3 Mega-annum to 55.8 ? 0.2 Ma . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic era ....
 and Eocene
Eocene

The Eocene Geologic time scale is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Palaeogene period in the Cenozoic era....
 Epoch about 33-65 million years ago. Today, Miacoidea is recognized as a paraphyletic array of stem taxa that probably resulted in some "miacoid" genera ending up just outside the order Carnivora
Carnivora

The diverse Order Carnivora includes over 260 species of eutheria mammals. Its members are formally referred to as carnivorans, while the word "carnivore" can refer to any meat-eating animal....
. For this reason, Miacoidea are now grouped together in the crown clade Carnivoramorpha
Carnivoramorpha

Carnivoramorpha are a clade of mammals that includes the modern order Carnivora and its closest extinct relatives in the Miacoidea , but excludes the creodonts....
. Carnivoramorpha consists of both Miacoidea and Carnivora, but excludes the order Creodonta
Creodonta

The creodonts are an extinct order of mammals that lived from the Paleocene to the Miocene epochs. They shared a common ancestor with the Carnivora....
 that evolved later alongside Carnivora. Miacoids are regarded as basal carnivoramorphs. The miacids may also be a paraphyletic family.

The transition from Miacoidea (miacoids) to Miacidae (miacids) to Caniform
Caniformia

Caniformia, or Canoidea are a suborder within the order Carnivora. They typically possess a long snout and non-retractile claws . The Pinnipedia evolved from caniform ancestors and are accordingly assigned to this group....
 Carnivora, and Viverravidae to Feliform
Feliformia

The Feliformia are a suborder within the order Carnivora and includes the 'true-cats' , hyenas, mongooses, civets and related taxa. The other suborder of Carnivora is Caniformia ....
 Carnivora, was a gradually trend during the Paleocene to late Eocene, with taxa from both North America and Eurasia involved. Cladistic analysis shows that different Miacoids evolved into different lineages of Carnivora. Viverravidae are related to Feliformes on the basis of a reduction of the number of molars to two, and an enlongated skull. The miacids, however, did not appear until the very end of the Paleocene and are characterized by their shorter skull, and loss of contact between the calcaneum and fibula
Fibula

The fibula or calf bone is a bone located on the lateral side of the tibia, with which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones, and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones....
 in the ankle. These two main lineages of modern Carnivora can be traced back to the Early Paleocene by fossil evidence. The Miacidae (miacids) evolved into the modern Caniformes (dogs
Canidae

Canidae is the family of the dogs; a member of this family is called a canid. They include wolf, foxes, coyotes, and jackals. The Canidae family is divided into the "true dogs" of the tribe Canini and the "foxes" of the tribe Vulpini....
, bears, raccoons
Procyonidae

Procyonidae is a New World family of the order Carnivora. It includes the Procyon s, coatis, kinkajous, olingos, Ring-tailed_Cats and cacomistles....
 and weasels
Mustelidae

Mustelidae or Mustelids , commonly referred to as the weasel family, is a family of carnivora mammals. The Mustelidae is a diverse family and the largest in the order Carnivora, at least partly because it has in the past been a catch-all category for many early or poorly differentiated taxa....
), while the Viverravidae evolved into the Feliformes (cats
Felidae

Felidae is the family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the most strictly Carnivore of the sixteen mammal families in the order Carnivora....
, hyaenas and mongooses), both of the order Carnivora.

Miacoids were mostly small marten-like
Marten

The Martens constitute the genus Martes within the subfamily Mustelinae, in family Mustelidae. They are slender, agile, animals, adapted to living in taigas, and are found in coniferous and northern deciduous forests across the northern hemisphere....
 carnivores. They probably fed on invertebrates, lizard
Lizard

Lizards are a large and widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 5,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains....
s, bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
s and smaller mammal
Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
s like shrew
Shrew

Shrews are small, superficially mouse-like mammals of the Family Soricidae. Although their external appearance is generally that of a long-nosed mouse, the shrews are not rodents and not closely related: the shrew family is part of the order Soricomorpha....
s and opossums, while others may have been insectivores. Some species were arboreal
Arboreal

Arboreal is a word meaning "related to or resembling trees". Its meaning comes from the Latin arbor, meaning tree.In biology, an arboreal animal is one which inhabits or spends large amounts of time in trees or Shrubes....
, others lived on the ground
Ground

Ground may refer to:* The surface of the Earth* Soil, a mixture of clay, sand and organic matter present on the surface of the Earth and serving as substrate for plants growth and micro-organisms development...
. Their teeth and skull
Skull

The skull is a bone structure found in the head of many animals. The skull supports the structures of the face and protects the head against injury....
 show that the miacoids were less developed than modern carnivores.

Classification

  • Clade
    Clade

    A clade is a term used in modern alpha taxonomy, the scientific classification of living and fossil organisms, to describe a monophyletic group, defined as a group consisting of a single common ancestor and all its descendants.The term "monophyletic group" is used in this article in the conventional sense of "an a...
     Carnivoramorpha
    Carnivoramorpha

    Carnivoramorpha are a clade of mammals that includes the modern order Carnivora and its closest extinct relatives in the Miacoidea , but excludes the creodonts....
    • Superfamily †Miacoidea
      Miacoidea

      Miacoidea is an extinct paraphyletic family that has been traditionally divided into two family of carnivores: Miacidae and Viverravidae. They were primitive carnivores which lived during the Paleocene and Eocene Epoch about 33-65 million years ago....
      • Family †Miacidae
        • genera: Chailicyon
          Chailicyon

          Chailicyon is an extinct genus of Miacidae....
          , Eosictis
          Eosictis

          Eosictis is an extinct genus of Miacidae. It was first named by Scott in 1945, and contains one species, Eosictis avinoffi.Sources*...
          , Ictognathus
          Ictognathus

          Ictognathus is an extinct genus of Miacidae....
          , Miacis
          Miacis

          Miacis is an extinct genus of mammals that appeared in the late Paleocene and are mammals of the family Miacidae, superfamily Miacoidea. They are representative of the group of early carnivores that were the ancestors of the modern Order Carnivora, although only the species Miacis cognitus is a true carnivoran....
          , Miocyon
          Miocyon

          Miocyon is an extinct genus of Miacidae....
          , Oödectes
          Oödectes

          O?dectes is an extinct genus of Miacidae....
          , Palaearctonyx
          Palaearctonyx

          Palaearctonyx is an extinct genus of Miacidae....
          , Paramiacis
          Paramiacis

          Paramiacis is an extinct genus of Miacidae....
          , Paroodectes
          Paroodectes

          Paroodectes was a miacid animal that lived during the early Eocene in the rain forests and swamps of the present-day Germany. It was a prehistoric predator that had the size and the appearance of a cat and was well adapted to climbing, as is apparent from its limbs, joints and shoulder bones....
          , Prodaphaenus
          Prodaphaenus

          Prodaphaenus is an extinct genus of Miacidae. The genus has at least one known species; Prodaphaenus scotti....
          , Quercygale
          Quercygale

          Quercygale is an extinct genus of Miacidae, primitive carnivores that lived during the Pleistocene and Eocene epochs. The genus contains three species: Q. angustidens, Q. hastingsiae, and Q. helvetica....
          , Tapocyon
          Tapocyon

          Tapocyon is an extinct genus of Miacidae, found in Oceanside, California. It was about the size of a coyote and is believed to have been a good climber who spent a lot of time in trees Tapocyon was first discovered in Ventura County, when part of a jaw was found in the 1930's....
          , Uintacyon
          Uintacyon

          Uintacyon is an extinct genus of Miacidae. There are at least two species in the genus; Uintacyon rudis and Uintacyon gingerichi, the latter being recently discovered....
          , Vassacyon
          Vassacyon

          Vassacyon is an extinct genus of Miacidae. It contains two species; Vassacyon promicrodon and Vassacyon bowni. It is considered the largest of the early Eocene mammals....
          , Vulpavus
          Vulpavus

          Vulpavus is an extinct genus of Miacidae. It is ancestral to all extant carnivores....
          , Xinyuictis
          Xinyuictis

          Xinyuictis is an extinct genus of Miacidae. It contains a species, Xinyuictis tenuis. It was once suggested that the species was the same as Miacis, but it was eventually decided that they were different....
          , Ziphacodon
          Ziphacodon

          Ziphacodon is an extinct genus of Miacidae. The species Ziphacodon rugatus was described as a new species by M. R. Thorpe in 1923. The genus itself was first described by Marsh in 1872....
      • Family †Viverravidae
        • genera: Bryanictis
          Bryanictis

          Bryanictis is an extinct genus of Viverravidae. It was named by MacIntyre in 1966. Species of Bryanictis include Bryanictis microlestes and Bryanictis paulus....
          , Didymictis
          Didymictis

          Didymictis is an extinct genus of Viverravidae. It contains six species; Didymictis altidens, Didymictis leptomylus, Didymictis lysitensis, Didymictis protenus, Didymictis proteus, and Didymictis vancleveae....
          , Ictidopappus
          Ictidopappus

          Ictidopappus is an extinct genus of Viverravidae. The genus contains at least one species; Ictidopappus mustelinus. It was first described by Simpson in 1935....
          , Mustelodon
          Mustelodon

          Mustelodon is an extinct Carnivora, which belongs to the family Viverravidae. This genus contains only one species, Mustelodon primerus....
          , Pristinictis
          Pristinictis

          Pristinictis is an extinct genus of Viverravidae, and is considered a primitive member of the group. It was first named by Fox and Youzwyshyn in 1994....
          , Protictis, Raphictis
          Raphictis

          Raphictis is an extinct genus of Didymictidae. It was first named by P. D. Gingerich and D. A. Winkler in 1985, and contains one species: R. gausion....
          , Simpsonictis, Viverravus