Enhydrocyon

Enhydrocyon is an extinct genus of bone crushing canid which inhabited North America during the Oligocene and Early Miocene, 30.8—20.4 Ma, existing for approximately 11 million years. ^[1]

Enhydrocyon Temporal range: Oligocene–Early Miocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Canidae
Subfamily:	†Hesperocyoninae
Genus:	†Enhydrocyon Cope, 1879
Type species
†Enhydrocyon stenocephalus
Species
See text
Range of Enhydrocyon fossil evidence

Enhydrocyon's dentition suggests this animal was a hypercarnivore or mesocarnivore.^[2] Species of Enhydrocyon were relatively large, powerfully built carnivores with a short snout and deep jaws reminiscent of a jaguar.^[3] These features give the skull a shape resembling that of the extant sea otter (Enhydra), prompting the scientific name.^[4] With an estimated weight of about 10 kilograms (22 lb), this was the earliest genus of canid adapted to be specialized predators.^[4]

Species

• †Enhydrocyon basilatus Cope 1879
• †E. crassidens Matthew 1907
• †E. pahinsintewakpa Macdonald 1963
• †E. sectorius Cope 1883
• †E. stenocephalus Cope 1879