|
Homotherini
Homotherini is an extinct tribe (or subtribe) of carnivoran mammals of the family Felidae (true cats). The tribe is commonly known as scimitar-toothed cats. These saber-toothed cats were distributed en North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America from the Miocene to Pleistocene living from c. 23 Ma until c. 12,000 years ago. Description Compared to the usually massively built dirk-toothed phenotype, apparent in ''Smilodon'', ''Megantereon'' and the feliform ''Barbourofelis'' (just to list a few), their upper canines were smaller than those of equally sized cats of that phenotype, but they had serrated edges. The scimitar-toothed phenotype has also evolved independently in other mammal families. Evolution Based on mitochondrial DNA sequences extracted from fossils, the lineage of ''Homotherium ''Homotherium'', also known as the scimitar-toothed cat or scimitar cat, is an extinct genus of machairodontine saber-toothed predator, often termed scimitar-toothed cats, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saber-toothed Cat
Machairodontinae is an extinct subfamily of carnivoran mammals of the family Felidae (true cats). They were found in Asia, Africa, North America, South America, and Europe from the Miocene to the Pleistocene, living from about 16 million until about 11,000 years ago. The Machairodontinae contain many of the extinct predators commonly known as "saber-toothed cats", including the famed genus ''Smilodon'', as well as other cats with only minor increases in the size and length of their maxillary canines. The name means "dagger-tooth", from Greek μάχαιρα (''machaira''), sword. Sometimes, other carnivorous mammals with elongated teeth are also called saber-toothed cats, although they do not belong to the felids. Besides the machairodonts, other saber-toothed predators also arose in the nimravids, barbourofelids, machaeroidines, hyaenodonts and even in two groups of metatherians (the thylacosmilid sparassodonts and the deltatheroideans). Evolution Family Felidae The Mach ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xenosmilus
''Xenosmilus hodsonae'' (from Greek, , ''xenos'', "strange" + , ''smilē'', " chisel" ) is an extinct species of the Machairodontinae, or saber-toothed cats. Description The species name ''hodsonae'' originates from Debra Hodson, the wife of a researcher. Two fairly intact specimens were found by amateur fossil hunters in 1983 (1981 by some sources) in the Haile limestone mines in Alachua County, Florida. In 1994, the fossils were examined, and it was decided that the cats were of an entirely new genus. The fossils were of Irvingtonian age (1.8 to 0.3 Ma). Because the skeletons were found beside each other, some suspect ''Xenosmilus'' was a social mammal. Found alongside the two skeletons were dozens of peccary bones. It seems likely, with their muscular builds, that ''X. hodsonae'' preyed upon peccaries. Physically, the cat reached around long with a highly muscular body and weighed around , making it similar in size to the fellow machairodonts '' Machairodus horribili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smilodon
''Smilodon'' is a genus of the extinct machairodont subfamily of the felids. It is one of the most famous prehistoric mammals and the best known saber-toothed cat. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely related to the tiger or other modern cats. ''Smilodon'' lived in the Americas during the Pleistocene epoch (2.5 Year#mya, mya – 10,000 years ago). The genus was named in 1842 based on fossils from Brazil; the generic name means "scalpel" or "two-edged knife" combined with "tooth". Three species are recognized today: ''S. gracilis'', ''S. fatalis'', and ''S. populator''. The two latter species were probably descended from ''S. gracilis'', which itself probably evolved from ''Megantereon''. The hundreds of individuals obtained from the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles constitute the largest collection of ''Smilodon'' fossils. Overall, ''Smilodon'' was more robustly built than any Neontology, extant cat, with particularly well-d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphimachairodus
''Amphimachairodus'' is an extinct genus of large machairodonts. It is also a member of the tribe Homotherini within Machairodontinae and is most closely related to such species as ''Xenosmilus'', ''Homotherium'' itself, and ''Nimravides''. It inhabited Eurasia, Northern Africa and North America during the late Miocene epoch. Description There was marked sexual dimorphism in ''A. giganteus'', with males being much larger than females. The species ''Amphimachairodus coloradensis'', from the United States (formerly ''Machairodus coloradensis'') was a significantly large animal, about at the shoulder, according to skeletal and life reconstructions, potentially making it one of the largest known felids. All ''Amphimachairodus'' species have a developed mandibular flange, however, ''A. colaradensis'' is distinguishable from ''A. giganteus'' and ''A. kurteni'' by subtle differences in the shape of the mandible and placement of lower carnassials. In size and proportions, the Eurasian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lokotunjailurus
''Lokotunjailurus'' is an extinct genus of saber-toothed cats ( Machairodontinae) which existed in Kenya and Chad during the Miocene epoch. ''Lokotunjailurus'' was about as tall as a lioness; about at the shoulder, but was much lighter in build due to its longer legs and more gracile body. Its dewclaws were particularly large in proportion to its body and were bigger than those of a much larger lion, indicating it relied on them quite heavily for grappling with prey. In comparison, its claws on the second to fourth digits were smaller than those of leopards. The type species ''L. emageritus'' was documented by Lars Werdelin based on fossils found at the Lothagam site in Kenya. He described it as a large felid with an extremely long claw on one digit. He named the genus from the Turkana word for "cat" and the species from the word for "claw". Werdelin considered ''L. emageritus'' to be similar to ''Homotherium'' in dentition and to represent a basal member of Homotherini. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nimravides
''Nimravides'' is a genus of extinct saber-toothed cats that lived in North America during the Late Miocene, between 10.3 and 5.332 Ma. Despite its scientific name, ''Nimravides'' does not belong to the Nimravidae, but is a true cat, belonging to the family Felidae. ''Nimravides catacopsis'', one of the largest and latest species, was quite large, measuring at the shoulder and was similar in size to a large tiger. It was also possessed of long, powerful legs and a long back. For many decades, it was also believed to be a member of the genus ''Machairodus'', but, despite the similarities between them at first glance, based on autapomorphies in the skeleton, the two animals are too different to be classified as species of the same genus, and thus, ''Nimravides'' remains separate as its own genus within the Homotherini. Evidence published in November, 2022 suggests ''Nimravides'' was endemic to North America and that when the ''Machairodus''-''Amphimachairodus'' lineage emigrated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homotherium Serum
''Homotherium'', also known as the scimitar-toothed cat or scimitar cat, is an extinct genus of machairodontine saber-toothed predator, often termed scimitar-toothed cats, that inhabited North America, South America, Eurasia, and Africa during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs (4 mya – 12,000 years ago), existing for approximately . It became extinct in Africa some 1.5 million years ago. The most recent Eurasian remains, recovered from what is now the North Sea, have been dated to around 28,000 years BP. In South America it is only known from a few remains in the northern region (Venezuela), from the mid-Pleistocene. Taxonomy and distribution The name ''Homotherium'' (Greek: (, 'same') and (, 'beast')) was proposed by Emilio Fabrini (1890), without further explanation, for a new subgenus of ''Machairodus'', whose main distinguishing feature was the presence of a large diastema between the two inferior premolars. The lineage of ''Homotherium'' is estimated (based on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Machairodus Giganteus 1
''Machairodus'' (from el, μαχαίρα , 'knife' and el, ὀδούς 'tooth') is a genus of large machairodontine saber-toothed cats that lived in Africa, Eurasia and North America during the late Miocene. It is the animal from which the subfamily Machairodontinae gets its name and has since become a wastebasket taxon over the years as many genera of sabertooth cat have been and are still occasionally lumped into it. Discovery ''Machairodus'' was first named in 1832, by German Naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup. Though its remains had been known since 1824, it was believed by Georges Cuvier that the fossils had come from a species of bear, which he called ''Ursus cultridens'' (known today as ''Megantereon'') based on composite sample of teeth from different countries, species and geologic ages, leading to what would become a long series of complications. Kaup however, recognized the teeth as those of felids and promptly reclassified the existing specimens as ''Machairodus'', incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homotherium
''Homotherium'', also known as the scimitar-toothed cat or scimitar cat, is an extinct genus of machairodontine saber-toothed predator, often termed scimitar-toothed cats, that inhabited North America, South America, Eurasia, and Africa during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs (4 mya – 12,000 years ago), existing for approximately . It became extinct in Africa some 1.5 million years ago. The most recent Eurasian remains, recovered from what is now the North Sea, have been dated to around 28,000 years BP. In South America it is only known from a few remains in the northern region (Venezuela), from the mid-Pleistocene. Taxonomy and distribution The name ''Homotherium'' (Greek: (, 'same') and (, 'beast')) was proposed by Emilio Fabrini (1890), without further explanation, for a new subgenus of ''Machairodus'', whose main distinguishing feature was the presence of a large diastema between the two inferior premolars. The lineage of ''Homotherium'' is estimated (based on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annum
A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hours of daylight, and, consequently, vegetation and soil fertility. In temperate and subpolar regions around the planet, four seasons are generally recognized: spring, summer, autumn and winter. In tropical and subtropical regions, several geographical sectors do not present defined seasons; but in the seasonal tropics, the annual wet and dry seasons are recognized and tracked. A calendar year is an approximation of the number of days of the Earth's orbital period, as counted in a given calendar. The Gregorian calendar, or modern calendar, presents its calendar year to be either a common year of 365 days or a leap year of 366 days, as do the Julian calendars. For the Gregorian calendar, the average length of the calendar year (the mea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smilodontini
Smilodontini is an extinct tribe within the Machairodontinae or "saber-toothed cat" subfamily of the Felidae. The tribe is also known as the "dirk-toothed cats". They were endemic to South America, North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa during the Miocene to Pleistocene, from 10.3 mya—11,000 years ago, existing for approximately . As the name suggests, the famous genus of ''Smilodon'' is part of this group, but there are also three other distinct genera in Smilodontini. The earliest known genus of the tribe is ''Promegantereon'', once thought to be a species of ''Paramachairodus''. The tribe only became extinct 10,000 years ago, with the demise of ''Smilodon''. All of these are saber-toothed cats, meaning that they have long, narrow upper canines and stocky, well muscled proportions. Description The various members of Smilodontini are generally distinguished by their long, narrow upper canines. However, the stockiness often seen as one of the tribe's signature features varie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient DNA
Ancient DNA (aDNA) is DNA isolated from ancient specimens. Due to degradation processes (including cross-linking, deamination and fragmentation) ancient DNA is more degraded in comparison with contemporary genetic material. Even under the best preservation conditions, there is an upper boundary of 0.4–1.5 million years for a sample to contain sufficient DNA for sequencing technologies. The oldest sample ever sequenced is estimated to be 1.65 million years old. Genetic material has been recovered from paleo/archaeological and historical skeletal material, mummified tissues, archival collections of non-frozen medical specimens, preserved plant remains, ice and from permafrost cores, marine and lake sediments and excavation dirt. On 7 December 2022, ''The New York Times'' reported that two-million year old genetic material was found in Greenland, and is currently considered the oldest DNA discovered so far. History of ancient DNA studies 1980s The first study of what would ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
