Before the ‘Grande Coupure’, a nearly singular, small and primitive Amphicyonidae was present in the late Eocene of Europe, while a wide diversity of taxa and morphologies emerged by the early Oligocene. When compared to the material from the 19th century ‘Old Collections from the Quercy’, the well-dated new material provides biochronological information to species first described without any time constraint, thus precising their position in the evolutionary process. We describe the most primitive musteloid taxon ever found in Europe. Other Caniformia taxa show ecological niches absolutely unknown in extant faunas, with horizontal wear facets in the check teeth.