Palaeoryctes ("ancient digger") is an extinct paraphyletic genus of mammals from paraphyletic subfamily Palaeoryctinae within family Palaeoryctidae, that lived in North America from middle Paleocene to early Eocene.
Palaeoryctes resembled a modern shrew, being slender and sharp-nosed, with typical insectivore teeth. It was around long, and weighed around . The molars of Palaeoryctes had little function other than piercing.
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