Palaeonictis fossil map
Where fossils of Palaeonictis 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 | 57.5–48.07 million years ago (Thanetian to Ypresian) |
| Periods | Paleogene |
| Family | Oxyaenidae |
| Named by | de Blainville 1842 |
| Fossil records | 86 occurrences at 27 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States, France, Belgium, Canada, United Kingdom |
| Rock formations | Willwood, txn:40954, DeBeque, Tienen, Margaret, Argiles d'lignite du Soissonnais |
About Palaeonictis
Palaeonictis ("ancient weasel") is an extinct genus of placental mammals from extinct subfamily Palaeonictinae within extinct family Oxyaenidae, that lived in Europe and North America from the Late Paleocene to the Early Eocene. Palaeonictines were a group of oxyaenids that consisted of omnivorous oxyaenids and were closely related to the hypercarnivorous macheroidines. Palaeonictis was a small to medium sized oxyaenid, with the largest species, P. peloria, weighing 11.7 kg (26 lb).
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Palaeonictis (revision 1371829357), 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: Q7126460.
