Terrible-Jawed Beast

Terrible-jawed beasts (Deinognathidae) are a family of carnivorous mammals that are not related to true carnivore mammals such as dogs, cats, bears, raccons, or seals, instead, they are descended from a group of prehistoric African elephant shrews of the Eocene that grew bigger due to competition from newly-evolving carnivoran mammals. This group includes the biggest carnivorous land mammal of all time, the rattling feresa (Deinognathus robustus), which can grow to about 40 feet long and weigh about 10 tons, making it almost the size of a great tyrant (Tyrannosaurus rex). Depending on a species, they can be bipedal carnivores or they can be quadrupedal meat-eaters, with the quadrupedal ones hunting their prey in a manner similar to their rivals, the gray wolves (Canis lupus), chasing their prey down to exhaustion. While all species of terrible-jawed beasts have hoofed back feet, the bipedal species have furry fore-paws ending with razor-sharp claws, giving them an advantage when capturing their prey. They dig their claws into the flesh of their prey to subdue it, when they deliver the bone-crushing bite. Many species are either listed as Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered due to human activities, but some species being small in size and able to avoid humans are listed as Least Concern due to conservation efforts, wide range, and their ability to tolerate human activities, with some even adapting to life in the cities and suburbs.