Paroxyclaenidae

Paroxyclaenidae is an extinct family of pantolestan mammals that ranges from the early Eocene to the early Oligocene. Most members of the family are found throughout Europe though the youngest and largest member, Welcommoides, lived in what is now Pakistan. Similar to a large amount of other more basal Cenozoic mammals, their taxonomic placement is not well understood with suggestions ranging from being within Carnivora to within the former order Creodonta. Today, them and Pantolesta as a whole are considered Eutherian mammals that may be a part of another problematic order, Cimolesta.

Like a lot of early Cenozoic mammals, a lot of there diagnostic features are in relation to their dentition which is generally similar to other early 'condylarths' with the main differences being the large size and spacing of their premolars. Due to their dentition and postcranial anatomy, paroxyclaenids have been suggested to have been arboreal frugivores. Their extinction lines up generally with multiple climatic events during the late Eocene to the Eocene-Oligocene boundary which caused cooler and more arid conditions in Europe that affected a large amount of other animals in the region. The more stable conditions on the Indian subcontinent allowed them to last much longer outside of Europe than within. Currently there are two subfamilies recognized within Paroxyclaenidae: Merialinae and Paroxyclaeninae.