Cynodictis
noun
Cyn·o·dic·tis
: a genus of extinct carnivores from the Eocene and Oligocene of Europe that were long-bodied short-legged creatures resembling weasels with retractile claws and presumably ancestral to dogs, foxes, and related forms
Word History
Etymology
New Latin, from cyn- + -dictis (from Greek diktys, an unknown Libyan animal mentioned by Herodotus)