The species were superficially cat or wolverine-like, with a flexible body long, and short limbs. Some species like
Oxyaena forcipata were bigger with a body mass estimated to be 20 kg.
Oxyaena had a broad, low skull (20 cm long) with a long facial part and a massive lower jaw, while its body and tail were long and its five-toed limbs were short. Oxyaenidae, a family of extinct meat-eating mammals, takes its name from this genus. Oxyaenids may have evolved in North or Central America, and tended to have long bodies and tails with short legs. Because of their shape, early studies often compared them to cats, but this body form has evolved many times in small to medium-sized forest-dwelling predators and mixed feeders, such as
viverrids,
mustelids, and
procyonids.
Oxyaena species were
plantigrade, treading on the whole surface of their soles. For this reason, these animals could not have specialized in chasing down fast-running prey. Early studies disagreed on whether they were walking, climbing, or swimming animals; more recent work suggests that like modern raccoons, they may have been able to climb trees, swim, and make a living on the ground, but were not highly specialized in any direction. An analysis of the teeth shows they were generalized feeders, like most modern
raccoons and
bears, rather than
hypercarnivores like modern
cats. The overall shape of the feeding equipment in
Oxyaena was most similar to the Pleistocene bear
Arctodus, which has been reconstructed as eating a range of foods similar to modern brown bears, with a preference for meat.
Oxyaena species had a similar size range as modern otters, so they would have hunted small to medium-sized prey, as well as eating some other foods such as insects, crustaceans, and fruit. ==Paleoenvironment==