What is "miacidae"

Miacids are extinct primitive carnivoramorphans within the family Miacidae that lived during the Paleocene and Eocene epochs, about 62–33 million years ago. Miacids existed for approximately .

Miacids are thought to have evolved into the modern carnivorous mammals of the order Carnivora. They were small carnivores, superficially marten-like or civet-like with long, little bodies and long tails. Some species were arboreal, while others lived on the ground.

They probably fed on invertebrates, lizards, birds, and smaller mammals like shrews and opossums. Their teeth and skulls show that the miacids were less developed than modern carnivorans. They had carnivoran-type carnassials, but lacked fully ossified auditory bullae (rounded protrusions).