Daphoenus

Daphoenus Temporal range: 40–27 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Late Eocene-Early Oligocene
D. vetus skeleton, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	†Amphicyonidae
Subfamily:	†Daphoeninae
Genus:	†Daphoenus Leidy, 1853
Type species
†Daphoenus vetus Leidy, 1853
Other species
†D. demilo Dawson, 1980 †D. hartshorianus Cope, 1873 †D. lambei Russell, 1934 †D. ruber Stock, 1932 †D. socialis Thorpe, 1922 †D. transversus Wortman & Matthew, 1899
Synonyms
Galecynus Cope, 1874 Pericyon Thorpe, 1922 Proamphicyon Hatcher, 1902

Daphoenus is an extinct genus of amphicyonids, a group colloquially known as "bear-dogs". It includes not just some of the best preserved material out of any amphicyonid, but also the earliest members of the family, first appearing in the middle Eocene and surviving into the Early Oligocene. The members of the genus are rather small compared to some of its later relatives, such as Amphicyon or Ysengrinia, ranging in size from comparable to a house cat to a small wolf. It was widely distributed across North America, with most of its remains being discovered in the White River Group of the Great Plains, though the John Day Beds of Oregon and the Cypress Hills Formation in Saskatchewan also represent important fossil sites. Other specimens have been described from localities in Texas, Georgia, Florida, and California.