Potamotherium
| Potamotherium Temporal range: Aquitanian - Tortonian
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|---|---|
| P. valletoni skeleton at the Gallery of Paleontology and Comparative Anatomy. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | †Semantoridae |
| Genus: | †Potamotherium Geoffroy, 1833 |
| Species | |
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Potamotherium ('river beast') an extinct genus of caniform carnivoran from the Miocene epoch of France and Germany. It has historically been assigned to the family Mustelidae (otters, weasels, etc.), but more recent studies suggest that it represents a primitive relative of pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, etc.)