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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 nimravids, barbourofelids, machaeroidines, hyaenodonts and even in two groups of metatherians (the thylacosmilid sparassodonts and the deltatheroideans). Evolution Family Felidae ... [...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] |
Machairodontini
Machairodontini is an extinct tribe of large saber-toothed cats of the subfamily Machairodontinae, that lived in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America, during the Middle and Late Miocene. Description Machairodont means "knife-tooth" which perfectly describes the species that make up Machairodontini. These predators are related to extant cats, the Felinae, and share a common ancestor within the Felidae clade. Machairodontines were medium to large sized saber-toothed cats that would have reached a size rivaling today's lions, which can reach weights of over . This clade is also occasionally classified as being part of the Homotherini, and includes genera such as ''Machairodus'', Hemimachairodus and ''Miomachairodus''. They were first characterized by their scimitar canines in the upper jaw. This means that the canines are shorter and coarsely serrated, with vertical flattening.Antón, Mauricio. 2013. Machairodont adaptations and affinities of the Holarctic late Miocene homothe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saber-toothed Predator
A saber-tooth (alternatively spelled sabre-tooth) is any member of various extinct groups of predatory therapsids, predominantly carnivoran mammals, that are characterized by long, curved saber-shaped canine teeth which protruded from the mouth when closed. Saber-toothed mammals have been found almost worldwide from the Eocene epoch to the end of the Pleistocene epoch 42 million years ago (mya) – 11,000 years ago (kya). One of the best-known genera is the machairodont or "saber-toothed cat" '' Smilodon'', the species of which, especially ''S. fatalis'', are popularly referred to as "saber-toothed tigers", although they are not closely related to tigers (''Panthera''). Despite some similarities, not all saber-tooths are closely related to saber-toothed cats or felids in-general. Instead, many members are classified into different families of Feliformia, such as Barbourofelidae and Nimravidae; the oxyaenid " creodont" genera '' Machaeroides'' and '' Apataelurus''; a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Machairodus
''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'', in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felidae
Felidae () is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a felid (). The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the domestic cat ('' Felis catus''). Felidae species exhibit the most diverse fur pattern of all terrestrial carnivores. Cats have retractile claws, slender muscular bodies and strong flexible forelimbs. Their teeth and facial muscles allow for a powerful bite. They are all obligate carnivores, and most are solitary predators ambushing or stalking their prey. Wild cats occur in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas. Some wild cat species are adapted to forest habitats, some to arid environments, and a few also to wetlands and mountainous terrain. Their activity patterns range from nocturnal and crepuscular to diurnal, depending on their preferred prey species. Reginald Innes Pocock divided the extant Felidae into three subfamilies: th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ''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 ...'', '' 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metailurini
Metailurini is an extinct taxonomic tribe of large saber-toothed cats that lived in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America from the Miocene to the Pleistocene. The best known Metalurini genera are '' Dinofelis'' and '' Metailurus''. Metailurini had canines longer than neofelids, but smaller than true saber toothed cats. The teeth were also are more conical than flat, so called "scimitar-toothed", having broad and mildly elongated upper canines. Like most extinct cats, the majority of species in Metailurini are known primarily from fragments. However, the systematic position and taxonomy of these creatures is now accepted as being true members of Felidae and descended from '' Proailurus'' and '' Pseudaelurus''. Within Felidae, they had been traditionally considered to belong in Machairodontinae, albeit some have in the past proposed a relationship to Pantherinae,Lars W. van den Hoek Ostende, Michael Morlo, Doris Nagel: ''Fossils explained 52 Majestic killers: the sabre-toothed ... [...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 var ... [...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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nimravidae
Nimravidae is an extinct family of carnivorans, sometimes known as false saber-toothed cats, whose fossils are found in North America and Eurasia. Not considered to belong to the true cats (family Felidae), the nimravids are generally considered closely related and classified as a distinct family in the suborder Feliformia. Fossils have been dated from the Middle Eocene through the Late Miocene epochs (Bartonian through Tortonian stages, 40.4–7.2 million years ago), spanning about . The barbourofelids, which were formerly classified as a subfamily of the Nimravidae, were reassigned to their own distinct family Barbourofelidae in 2004. However, some recent studies suggest the barbourofelids are a branch of the nimravids, suggesting that this debate might not be settled yet. Morphology and evolution Most nimravids had muscular, low-slung, cat-like bodies, with shorter legs and tails than are typical of cats. Unlike extant Feliformia, the nimravids had a different bone structure ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metailurus
''Metailurus'' is a genus of saber-toothed cat in the family Felidae, and belonging to the tribe Metailurini, which occurred in North America, Eurasia and Africa from the Miocene to the Middle Pleistocene. This genus was formally described by O. Zdansky in 1924. ''Metailurus minor'' has been reassigned to the felid genus ''Yoshi''. Description The canines of ''Metailurus'' are longer than those of even the clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a ..., but significantly shorter than true saber teeth, and more conical than bladed. A partial skeleton found in the Turolian site of Kerassia 1 consists of the jawbone, the anterior and posterior limb bone elements, and some sternal bones and some vertebrae. This is the most complete known of the species. Its dental ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the '' Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in 2009 by the International Union of Geological Sciences, the cutoff of the Pleistocene and the preceding Pliocene was regarded as being 1.806 million years Before Present (BP). Publications from earlier years may use either definition of the period. The end of the Pleistocene corresponds with the end of the last glacial period and also with the end of the Paleolithic age used in archaeology. The name is a combination of Ancient Greek grc, label=none, πλεῖστος, pleīstos, most and grc, label=none, καινός, kainós (latinized as ), 'new'. At the end of the preceding Pliocene, the previously isolated North and South American continents were joined by the Isthmus of Panama, causing a faunal interchange between the t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
