Altacreodus (original) (raw)

Altacreodus ("creodont from Alberta") is an extinct genus of eutherian mammals. Fossils have been found in North America where they first appeared during the Late Cretaceous, and they died out prior to the start of the Paleocene. The type species is "Cimolestes" magnus, which was renamed Altacreodus magnus in 2015. Recent phylogenetic analyses suggests that genus Altacreodus is a member of clade Pan-Carnivora and the closest known sister taxon to genus and the order Hyaenodonta. In some studies its position as a crown-group placental has been equivocal.