Brychotherium
| Brychotherium Temporal range: Late Eocene,
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|---|---|
| Holotype right dentary (C–M3) of Brychotherium ephalmos, showing both fossil photo and digital model (left: photo; right: model). | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | †Hyaenodonta |
| Family: | †Teratodontidae |
| Subfamily: | †Teratodontinae |
| Genus: | †Brychotherium Borths, Holroyd & Seiffert, 2016 |
| Type species | |
| †Brychotherium ephalmos Borths, Holroyd & Seiffert, 2016
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Brychotherium (meaning "greedily eating beast") is an extinct genus of teratodontid hyaenodonts, a group of predatory pan-carnivoran mammals. The order name hyenadont comes from their hyena-like dentition, which refers to their carnassial-like slicing teeth and not to the bone-crushing dentition of modern spotted and brown hyenas. The family name Teratodontidae means "monstrous teeth", referring to their typically large and hypercarnivorous dentition. The genus is dated to the late Eocene, about 34 million years ago in Egypt and contains a single described species, Brychotherium ephalmos (species name meaning "pickled in brine"), named after the saline preservation conditions of the sediments in which it was found. Fossils of B. ephalmos were discovered at Locality 41 (L-41), in the Jebel Qatrani Formation of the Fayum Depression, and the genus was formally described in 2016, with B. ephalmos designated as the type species.