creodont

[ kree-uh-dont ]

noun

1. any of a diverse group of extinct predatory mammals, from the Paleocene to Pleistocene epochs, that constituted the suborder Creodonta, of the order Carnivora, developing along evolutionary lines somewhat parallel to those of the ancestors of modern carnivores and typically having a stocky, doglike body and a long, low skull.

creodont

/ ˈkriːəˌdɒnt /

noun

1. any of a group of extinct Tertiary mammals some of which are thought to have been the ancestors of modern carnivores: order Carnivora

creodont

/ krē′ə-dŏnt′ /

1. Any of various extinct carnivorous mammals of the order Creodonta of the Paleocene to the Pliocene Epochs. Creodonts had long, low skulls with crests to which chewing muscles were attached. They were the dominant carnivorous mammals for millions of years, and were once believed to be ancestral to modern carnivores.

Word History and Origins

Origin of creodont¹

< New Latin Creodonta (1875) name of the group, equivalent to cre- (< Greek kréas flesh) + -odont- -odont + -a neuter plural ending

Word History and Origins

Origin of creodont¹

C19: from New Latin Creodonta, from Greek kreas flesh + odōn tooth

Example Sentences

Creodont fossils have long, narrow skulls similar in shape to a coyote’s, and carnassial molars, which cut through meat and bone like a pair of sharp scissors.

From Seattle Times

These tracks might have been made by a creodont, a predatory mammal about the size of a house cat, which flourished in the Paleocene and Eocene in Europe, Africa and North America.

From Seattle Times

Take a seat in his bathroom and you found yourself facing the faintly smirking skull of Doris, a prehistoric creodont.

From Literature

Two tons of fossils have been despatched to America, including the skull of a creodont, the largest known primitive carnivorous animal, measuring 33x21 inches; teeth and jaws of coryphodon, lophidon and other large carnivorae; several skulls of the rhinoceros-like titanotheres; some complete skeletons of dinosaurs of the inguanodon type.

From Time Magazine Archive

As regards the origin of the zeuglodonts themselves, remains discovered in the Eocene formations of Egypt indicate a practically complete transition, so far at least as dental characters are concerned, from these whale-like creatures to the creodont Carnivora.

From Project Gutenberg