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Early carnivoran mammal. Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.
OBJECT DOSSIER · SMITHSONIAN OPEN ACCESS

Early carnivoran mammal — Sinopa grangeri

SAGE Museum Deep Time scientific dossier
Date / Period
Middle Eocene — Bridgerian · Eocene, Bridgerian.
Object Type
cast
Medium
representative_scientific_visual
About This Object

Geologic period: Middle Eocene — Bridgerian

Age: Eocene, Bridgerian.

Taxonomic note: The inherited exhibit title says 'early carnivoran mammal.' Smithsonian taxonomy places Sinopa in Hyaenodontidae, outside crown Carnivora. SAGE retains the source title for provenance but corrects the scientific interpretation.

Feeding: Carnivorous.

Evidence: Skull, teeth and skeleton directly preserve a hyaenodont body plan. Predatory feeding is supported by its dentition.

Why it matters: Sinopa is valuable because it shows that several extinct mammal groups independently occupied carnivorous niches before modern carnivorans became dominant.

Plain Language Identity: An Eocene hyaenodont predatory mammal, not a member of the modern order Carnivora.

What You Are Looking At: A cast representing the skeleton of Sinopa grangeri.

Ecosystem: Middle Eocene terrestrial ecosystem of Wyoming.

Source Urls: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour/current-exhibits/deep-time-virtual-tour-fossil-list; https://www.si.edu/object/sinopa-grangeri-matthew:nmnhpaleobiology_3428208

Formation: Bridger Formation, Black Fork Member

Find Location: Wyoming, United States.

Enrichment Method: SAGE curated research pass; title + scientific name + source scene matched; chronology and taxonomy conflicts retained rather than silently corrected; evidence separated from inference

Scientific name: Sinopa grangeri

Evidence / representation: Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.

Why It Is In This SAGE Exhibit

Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.

After the Dinosaurs: Mammals, Ice Ages and the World We Inherited.

Provenance
Smithsonian Deep Time source scene: Life in the Neogene Ocean
Exhibition History
Included in the SAGE Museum Dinosaurs & Deep Time staging exhibit.
Subjects & Themes
Sinopa grangeri Middle Eocene — Bridgerian cast Life in the Neogene Ocean After the Dinosaurs
ORIGINAL COLLECTION SOURCE

This object page stays inside SAGE Museum. The Smithsonian link below is provided only as the original scholarly collection record. It opens separately.