Mentoclaenodon fossil map
Where fossils of Mentoclaenodon have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 56 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 56 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 61.66–59.24 million years ago (Selandian) |
| Periods | Paleogene |
| Family | Arctocyonidae |
| Named by | Weigelt 1960 |
| Fossil records | 2 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Germany |
| Rock formations | txn:42198 |
About Mentoclaenodon
Mentoclaenodon is an extinct genus of arctocyonid ungulate mammals.
Mentoclaenodon had large upper canines comparable to the "saber-teeth" of various Miocene and Pleistocene feliform saber-toothed cats. This genus and its sister-genus Anacodon, and the oxyaenid Machaeroides were the first true mammals to develop saber-teeth. (The various saber-tooth gorgonopsian genera, such as Inostrancevia and Ruhuhucerberus, are regarded as "stem-mammals" that are close relatives of true mammals). Fossils of Mentoclaenodon are found in late Paleocene-aged strata of Cernay, France, and in strata of Walbeck, Germany. The average estimated skull length is 15 cm.
Mentoclaenodon is one of the largest European mammals during the Paleocene. It is also thought to be one of the earliest known Cenozoic-aged mammalian predators that would have preyed on other mammals. Mentoclaenodon and its ancestors reigned from the Cretaceous to the Paleocene. By the early Eocene the arctocyonids were supplanted by the hyaenodonts, mesonychians and the early carnivorans such as Miacis.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Mentoclaenodon (revision 1368551376), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q3854756.
