Paraenhydrocyon

Paraenhydrocyon ("beside Enhydrocyon") is an extinct genus of bone crushing omnivorous early canid which inhabited North America during the Early Miocene, 24.8—20.4 Ma, existing for approximately 5 million years. ^[1]

Paraenhydrocyon Temporal range: Early Miocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Skull of Paraenhydrocyon josephi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Caniformia
Family:	Canidae
Subfamily:	†Hesperocyoninae
Genus:	†Paraenhydrocyon Wang, 1994
Type species
†Temnocyon wallovianus
Species
†P. robustus Cope 1881 †P. josephi Matthew 1907 †P. wallovianus Cope 1881

The dentition suggests that this animal was a hypercarnivore or mesocarnivore.^[2] In addition to its retention of several primitive cranial characters, this includes unique sharp-tipped, slender premolars that clearly contrast with the strong premolars of the Mesocyon–Enhydrocyon group, but also parallels that clade by having a reduced metaconid cusp on the lower molars.^{[citation needed]}