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Megantereon
''Megantereon'' was a genus of prehistoric machairodontine saber-toothed cat that lived in North America, Eurasia, and Africa. It may have been the ancestor of ''Smilodon''. Taxonomy Fossil fragments have been found in Africa, Eurasia, and North America. It also ranged into southernmost China as well, as a mostly complete skull from Sabretooth Cave, Chongzuo indicates, though it seemed to have been rare in most of Asia due to being ill-adapted to closed forest environments. The oldest confirmed records of ''Megantereon'' are known from the Pliocene of North America and are dated to about 4.5 million years. About 3–3.5 million years ago, it is firmly recorded also from Africa (for example, in Kenya), about 2.5 to 2 million years ago also from Asia. In Europe the oldest remains are known from Les Etouaries (France), a site which is now dated to less than 2.5 million years old. Therefore, a North American origin of ''Megantereon'' has been suggested. However, recent findings of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megantereon Megantereon Montevarchi
''Megantereon'' was a genus of prehistoric machairodontine saber-toothed cat that lived in North America, Eurasia, and Africa. It may have been the ancestor of ''Smilodon''. Taxonomy Fossil fragments have been found in Africa, Eurasia, and North America. It also ranged into southernmost China as well, as a mostly complete skull from Sabretooth Cave, Chongzuo indicates, though it seemed to have been rare in most of Asia due to being ill-adapted to closed forest environments. The oldest confirmed records of ''Megantereon'' are known from the Pliocene of North America and are dated to about 4.5 million years. About 3–3.5 million years ago, it is firmly recorded also from Africa (for example, in Kenya), about 2.5 to 2 million years ago also from Asia. In Europe the oldest remains are known from Les Etouaries (France), a site which is now dated to less than 2.5 million years old. Therefore, a North American origin of ''Megantereon'' has been suggested. However, recent findings of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megantereon Megantereon 7
''Megantereon'' was a genus of prehistoric machairodontine saber-toothed cat that lived in North America, Eurasia, and Africa. It may have been the ancestor of ''Smilodon''. Taxonomy Fossil fragments have been found in Africa, Eurasia, and North America. It also ranged into southernmost China as well, as a mostly complete skull from Sabretooth Cave, Chongzuo indicates, though it seemed to have been rare in most of Asia due to being ill-adapted to closed forest environments. The oldest confirmed records of ''Megantereon'' are known from the Pliocene of North America and are dated to about 4.5 million years. About 3–3.5 million years ago, it is firmly recorded also from Africa (for example, in Kenya), about 2.5 to 2 million years ago also from Asia. In Europe the oldest remains are known from Les Etouaries (France), a site which is now dated to less than 2.5 million years old. Therefore, a North American origin of ''Megantereon'' has been suggested. However, recent findings of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megantereon Model
''Megantereon'' was a genus of prehistoric machairodontine saber-toothed cat that lived in North America, Eurasia, and Africa. It may have been the ancestor of ''Smilodon''. Taxonomy Fossil fragments have been found in Africa, Eurasia, and North America. It also ranged into southernmost China as well, as a mostly complete skull from Sabretooth Cave, Chongzuo indicates, though it seemed to have been rare in most of Asia due to being ill-adapted to closed forest environments. The oldest confirmed records of ''Megantereon'' are known from the Pliocene of North America and are dated to about 4.5 million years. About 3–3.5 million years ago, it is firmly recorded also from Africa (for example, in Kenya), about 2.5 to 2 million years ago also from Asia. In Europe the oldest remains are known from Les Etouaries (France), a site which is now dated to less than 2.5 million years old. Therefore, a North American origin of ''Megantereon'' has been suggested. However, recent findings of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Machairodontinae
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 Nimravidae, nimravids, Barbourofelidae, barbourofelids, Machaeroidinae, machaeroidines, Hyaenodonta, hyaenodonts and even in two groups of metatherians (the Thylacosmilidae, thylacosmilid Spara ... [...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] |
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] |
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] |
Dinofelis
''Dinofelis'' is a genus of extinct sabre-toothed cats belonging to the tribe Metailurini or possibly Smilodontini. They were widespread in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America at least 5 million to about 1.2 million years ago (Early Pliocene to Early Pleistocene). Fossils very similar to ''Dinofelis'' from Lothagam range back to the Late Miocene, some 8 million years ago. Description and ecology In size they were between a modern leopard and a lion, with most about the size of a jaguar (70 cm tall and up to 120 kg), they were medium-sized but powerful cats with a pair of prominent saber teeth. The front limbs were particularly robust compared to modern cats (even the jaguar). Two specimens were examined by Serge Legendre and Claudia Roth for body mass. The first specimen was estimated to weigh , the second . The canine teeth of ''Dinofelis'' are longer and more flattened than those of modern cats but less than those of true saber-tooths, hence the designation of '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Promegantereon
''Promegantereon'' is an extinct genus of machairodont from the Miocene of Europe. It is one of the oldest machairodont cat species in the Smilodontini and is believed to be an ancestor of ''Megantereon'' and ''Smilodon''. Description ''Promegantereon'' is one of the oldest known true saber-toothed cats. Its fossils were discovered in Cerro de los Batallones, a Late Miocene fossil site near Madrid, Spain. However, it was only known from skull fragments from Eppelsheim until the early 1990s when the Cerro de los Battlones fossil beds were discovered. The animal was about high at the shoulder, similar to a leopard in size, but with a more supple body. The shape of its limbs suggests that it may have been an agile, scansorial climber, and could have hunted relatively large prey thanks to its elongate, flattened upper canines. In appearance it was highly similar to the contemporary ''Paramachairodus'', so much so, they were and are often considered to be the same genus. However, d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swartkrans
Swartkrans is a fossil-bearing cave designated as a South African National Heritage Site, located about from Johannesburg. It is located in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site and is notable for being extremely rich in archaeological material, particularly hominin remains. Fossils discovered in the limestone of Swartkrans include ''Homo ergaster'' (a variety of ''Homo erectus''), ''Paranthropus'' and ''Homo habilis''. The oldest deposits present at the site are believed to be between 1.9 and 2.1 million years old. Noted paleontologist Robert Broom was a frequent digger. He was followed by C. K. 'Bob' Brain, whose excavations at the site inspired his book '' The Hunters or the Hunted?'' in which he demonstrated that instead of being bloodthirsty killer apes, the hominin fossils found at the site were themselves victims of predation by big cats. Originally, it was believed that ''Dinofelis'' was responsible for such killings, though recent evidence suggests that hominids ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homo Erectus
''Homo erectus'' (; meaning "upright man") is an extinct species of archaic human from the Pleistocene, with its earliest occurrence about 2 million years ago. Several human species, such as '' H. heidelbergensis'' and '' H. antecessor'' — with the former generally considered to have been the ancestor to Neanderthals, Denisovans, and modern humans — appear to have evolved from ''H. erectus''. Its specimens are among the first recognizable members of the genus ''Homo''. ''H. erectus'' was the first human ancestor to spread throughout Eurasia, with a continental range extending from the Iberian Peninsula to Java. Asian populations of ''H. erectus'' may be ancestral to '' H. floresiensis'' and possibly to '' H. luzonensis''. The last known population of ''H. erectus'' is '' H. e. soloensis'' from Java, around 117,000–108,000 years ago. ''H. erectus'' had a more modern gait and body proportions, and was the first human species to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern marine invertebrates than the Pliocene has. The Miocene is preceded by the Oligocene and is followed by the Pliocene. As Earth went from the Oligocene through the Miocene and into the Pliocene, the climate slowly cooled towards a series of ice ages. The Miocene boundaries are not marked by a single distinct global event but consist rather of regionally defined boundaries between the warmer Oligocene and the cooler Pliocene Epoch. During the Early Miocene, the Arabian Peninsula collided with Eurasia, severing the connection between the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, and allowing a faunal interchange to occur between Eurasia and Africa, including the dispersal of proboscideans into Eurasia. During the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
