Hemipsalodon

Hemipsalodon ("half-scissor tooth") is an extinct genus of hyainailourid hyaenodonts from the subfamily Hyainailourinae that lived in North America during the middle to late Eocene.^[4][5]

Hemipsalodon Temporal range: 41.2–37.0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ Middle to Late Eocene
Skull of Hemipsalodon grandis
Restoration of H. grandis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	†Hyaenodonta
Superfamily:	†Hyainailouroidea
Family:	†Hyainailouridae
Subfamily:	†Hyainailourinae
Genus:	†Hemipsalodon Cope, 1885
Type species
†Hemipsalodon grandis Cope, 1885
Species
†H. grandis (Cope, 1885)[1] †H. viejaensis (Gustafson, 1986)[2]
Synonyms
synonyms of species: H. grandis: Hemipsalodon cooki (Schlaikjer, 1935)[3]

Description

The skull of Hemipsalodon grandis is 45 centimetres (18 in) in length, with a lower jaw length of 34 centimetres (13 in). The most complete skull (O.M.S.I. No. 619), belonged to an old individual. It is powerfully-built, and overall superficially resembles the mesonychid Harpagolestes. The nasal opening is quite large. The canines are greatly enlarged. The anterior portion of the skull is broad anteriorly, but narrows down considerably posteriorly.^[6]