Creodonts

[epaiva]

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Hyainailouros sulzeri was one of the largest members of the Creodonta, and the skull of the closely related (if not congeneric) Magistotherium from northern Africa measures over 60 cm in length, larger than that of any other creodont or any modern carnivore. Although complete skulls of Hyainailouros are not known, the size of the dentition is at par with that of magistotherium, but one must take into account that these giant creodonts, like all members of the family Hyaenodontidae, had very big skulls for their body size. The skeleton of H, sulzeri is well known thanks to a fine specimen from a site of Chevilly, France, which shows an animal with relatively short, robust legs and long body and tail. Compared with the contemporary amphicyonid Amphicyon giganteus, the giant creodont had a considerably larger head, but a smaller body. The modern wolf is the biggest extant carnivore whose dentition shows a combination of meat slicing and bone cracking adaptations comparable to that of Hyainailouros and Amphicyon, but it would, of course, be dwarfed by both Miocene meat predators. Reply