An extinct order of mammals containing the dominant carnivores in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa during much of the Cenozoic. Its members roamed the Earth for more than 50 million years, then became extinct less than 9 million years ago. Creodonts were not part of the order Carnivora, but they independently evolved carnivorous specializations in their teeth and limbs. They ranged from tiny (Isohyaenodon from Africa was the size of a small weasel) to gigantic (Hyainailouros from Europe and Asia was one of the largest land-dwelling mammalian carnivores ever). The wolflike genus Hyaenodon is probably the most familiar creodont among the more than 180 known species. Most lived in North America and Europe, but new species from Africa and Asia are being described at an incredible rate.