A new basal caniform (Mammalia: Carnivora) from the middle Eocene of North America and remarks on the phylogeny of early carnivorans

UCMP 85202 and associated SDSNH skeletons preserve a craniodental–postcranial mosaic that the study’s 30-terminal morphology analysis places at the base of Caniformia; family assignment and diet remain unresolved or model-dependent.

Lycophocyon hutchisoni is bounded by holotype cranium UCMP 85202 and associated paratype skeletons from southern California within an approximately 46.2–42 Ma sample envelope; this is not a direct ancestry date or complete genus duration.

Tomiya's Paleogene-only morphology subset recovers Lycophocyon hutchisoni on the caniform branch outside crown Canoidea, whereas the broader analysis does not resolve its nearby carnivoramorphan relationships.

The named Lycophocyon material is reported from member C of the Santiago Formation in San Diego County, California; these localities do not establish a genus-wide North American distribution.

UCMP 85202 preserves craniodental material, while associated SDSNH specimens include cranial, mandibular and selected postcranial elements.

A six-variable discriminant classifier predicts carnivory for the holotype with 83% posterior probability, but this comparative model does not observe feeding, habitat, locomotion or an ecological guild.