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Musteloidea is a superfamily of carnivoran mammals united by shared characters of the skull and teeth. Musteloids share a common ancestor with the ursoids, the group which includes bears.
The Musteloidea consists of the families Mustelidae (mustelids: weasels), Procyonidae (procyonids: raccoons and kin), Mephitidae (skunks) and possibly Ailuridae (red pandas).
In North America, ursoids and musteloids first appear in the Chadronian[citation needed] (late Eocene). In Europe, ursoids and musteloids first appear in the early Oligocene immediately following the Grande Coupure.
The superfamily Musteloidea may not be a monophyletic group. Some or all of the diagnostic characters could have evolved in to two or more independent radiations from primitive ursoids such as Amphicynodon.
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