Semantoridae

{{Short description|Extinct family of mammals}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = Late Oligocene - Late Miocene, {{fossil range|24|7.25}}

| image = Puijila darwini (fossil).jpg

| image_caption = Restored skeleton of Puijila darwini

| taxon = Semantoridae

| authority = Orlov, 1931

| subdivision_ranks = Genera

| subdivision =

• Semantor Orlov, 1931; type
• Necromites V. V. Bogachev. 1940
• Potamotherium Geoffroy, 1833
• Puijila Rybczynski et al., 2009

}}

Semantoridae is an extinct family of stem-pinnipeds with fossils found in France, Kazakhstan, and Canada, dating back to various points in time in the Miocene epoch.{{cite journal | author = Berta, A. | author2 = Churchill, M. | author3 = Boessenecker, R.W. | name-list-style = amp | year = 2018 | title = The Origin and Evolutionary Biology of Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses | journal = Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences | volume = 46 | pages = 203–228 | doi = 10.1146/annurev-earth-082517-010009| bibcode = 2018AREPS..46..203B | doi-access = free }}{{cite journal | author = Rybczynski, N. | author2 = Dawson, M.R. | author3 = Tedford, R.H. | name-list-style = amp | year = 2009 | title = A semi-aquatic Arctic mammalian carnivore from the Miocene epoch and origin of Pinnipedia | journal = Nature | volume = 458 | issue = 7241 | pages = 1021–24 | doi = 10.1038/nature07985 | pmid = 19396145| bibcode = 2009Natur.458.1021R | s2cid = 4371413 }} Based on their overall anatomy semantorids were not marine specialists, as their elongated bodies, a long tail and robust limbs suggest they were freshwater animals not unlike otters. Indeed, at least some taxa such as Semantor and Potamotherium were initially classified as mustelids closely related to otters.