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Carnivora is an order of placental mammals that have specialized in primarily eating flesh, whose members are formally referred to as carnivorans. The order Carnivora is the fifth largest order of mammals, comprising at least 279 species on every major landmass and in a variety of habitats, ranging from the cold Polar regions of Earth to the hyper-arid region of the Sahara Desert and the open seas. These mammals have a large array of diverse body plans with a wide diversity of shapes and sizes.
Dinofelis is an extinct genus of machairodontine, usually classified in the tribe Metailurini. It was widespread in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America from 5 million to about 1.2 million years ago. Fossils very similar to Dinofelis from Lothagam range back to around 8 million years ago, in the Late Miocene.
Smilodon is a genus of felids belonging to the extinct subfamily Machairodontinae. It is one of the best known saber-toothed predators and prehistoric mammals. 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. 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 specimens obtained from the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles constitute the largest collection of Smilodon fossils.
Homotherium is an extinct genus of machairodontine scimitar-toothed cat that inhabited North America, South America, Eurasia, and Africa during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs from around 4 million to 12,000 years ago. In comparison to Smilodon, the canines of Homotherium were shorter, and it was probably adapted to running down rather than ambushing prey.
Amphicyonidae is an extinct family of terrestrial carnivorans belonging to the suborder Caniformia. They first appeared in North America in the middle Eocene, spread to Europe by the late Eocene, and further spread to Asia and Africa by the early Miocene. They had largely disappeared worldwide by the late Miocene, with the latest recorded species at the end of the Miocene in Africa. They were among the first carnivorans to evolve large body size. Amphicyonids are colloquially referred to as "bear-dogs".
A saber-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.
Machairodontinae is an extinct subfamily of carnivoran mammals of the family Felidae. 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 10,000 years ago.
Paramachaerodus is an extinct genus of saber-tooth cat of the subfamily Machairodontinae, which was endemic to Eurasia during the Middle and Late Miocene from 15 to 9 Ma. A 2022 phylogenetic analysis suggested that the genus may be polyphyletic.
Xenosmilus is an extinct genus of homotherin machairodontine that was discovered in Florida in 2001. It has one species, Xenosmilus hodsonae.
Megantereon is an extinct genus of prehistoric machairodontine saber-toothed cat that lived in North America, Eurasia, and Africa. It is closely related to and possibly the ancestor of Smilodon.
Adelphailurus is an extinct genus of metailurin machairodontine (saber-toothed) cat that inhabited western North America during the middle Pliocene. It is monotypic, containing only the species Adelphailurus kansensis.
Barbourofelidae is an extinct family of carnivorans of the suborder Feliformia, sometimes known as false saber-toothed cats, that lived in North America, Eurasia and Africa during the Miocene epoch and existed for about 7.9 million years. Thought to be an independent lineage from the Nimravidae and Machairodontinae, which had all attained elongated canines, recent research argues that it may be a subfamily of the Nimravidae, extending its biochronological range into the Miocene, although this issue is not yet fully resolved.
Miomachairodus is an extinct genus of large machairodontine containing only a single species, Miomachairodus pseudailuroides. It is known from Miocene-age fossils in China and Turkey and persisted until the Late Miocene. Fossils of this machairodont have been found in the Vallesian-age Bahe Formation in Shaanxi, China, and Yeni Eskihisar in Anatolia. This Turkish site is of Miocene age and is well known for its pollen studies.
Lokotunjailurus is an extinct genus of saber-toothed cats (Machairodontinae) which existed during the late Miocene and earliest Pliocene epoch and is known from localities in northern, central, eastern and southern Africa. A big cat, it was more slender than comparable recent species and its build suggests cursoriality. It is grouped among a group of similar-looking saber-toothed cats known as the scimitar-tooths.
Homotherini is a tribe of saber-toothed cats of the family Felidae. The tribe is commonly known as scimitar-toothed cats. These saber-toothed cats were endemic to North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America from the Miocene to Pleistocene living from c. 23 Ma until c. 12,000 years ago.
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.
Yoshi is an extinct genus of machairodontine sabertooth cat in the tribe Metailurini. Its fossils were described from Turolian deposits from the Miocene epoch of the Balkan Peninsula in 2014 and specimens from China once thought to belong to Metailurus. The name comes from that of the lead author's pet cat. It has been described as potentially being synonymous with Metailurus, though this is difficult to confirm at present. The type specimen is a skull that bears remarkable similarities with the modern cheetah. Yoshi is intermediate in size between a lynx and cougar, and based on several as-yet unpublished skeletons, may have had a similar lifestyle to the cheetah, being better built for speed and fast pursuit than most other machairodonts, which were more suited to ambush and hunting large, relatively slow moving animals.
Tchadailurus is a genus of machairodontine felid from the late Miocene of Chad, Africa.
Miopanthera is an extinct genus of Pseudaelurus-grade felids.
Taowu is an extinct genus of machairodonts, a type of saber-toothed cat. It lived during the Early Pleistocene about 2.5 million years ago in East Asia. So far, only one skull is known, found in northern China. Based on this, a relatively small representative of the saber-toothed cats can be reconstructed, which only reached the size of a present-day leopard. In its dentition characteristics, it mediates between phylogenetic older forms such as Amphimachairodus and younger members such as Homotherium. The genus was scientifically described in 2022, but the find material was recovered as early as the 1930s.
References
- ↑ Faurby, Søren; Silvestro, Daniele; Werdelin, Lars; Antonelli, Alexandre (March 2020). Harmon, Luke (ed.). "Brain expansion in early hominins predicts carnivore extinctions in East Africa". Ecology Letters. 23 (3): 537–544. Bibcode:2020EcolL..23..537F. doi:10.1111/ele.13451. ISSN 1461-023X. PMC 7079157 . PMID 31943670.
- ↑ Jiangzuo, Qigao; Werdelin, Lars; Sun, Yuanlin (2022-05-15). "A dwarf sabertooth cat (Felidae: Machairodontinae) from Shanxi, China, and the phylogeny of the sabertooth tribe Machairodontini". Quaternary Science Reviews. 284: 107517. Bibcode:2022QSRv..28407517J. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107517. ISSN 0277-3791.
- ↑ Werdelin, Lars (1981). "The evolution of lynxes". Annales Zoologici Fennici. 18 (1): 37–71. ISSN 0003-455X. JSTOR 23734102.
- ↑ Werdelin, Lars; Solounias, Nikos (1991-05-31). The Hyaenidae: taxonomy, systematics and evolution. Fossils and Strata. Vol. 30. Universitetsforlaget. doi:10.18261/8200374815-1991-01. ISBN 978-82-00-37481-7.
- ↑ Jiangzuo, Qigao; Rabe, Caitlin; Abella, Juan; Govender, Romala; Valenciano, Alberto (2023-07-20). "Langebaanweg's sabertooth guild reveals an African Pliocene evolutionary hotspot for sabertooths (Carnivora; Felidae)". iScience. 26 (8): 107212. Bibcode:2023iSci...26j7212J. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.107212. ISSN 2589-0042. PMC 10440717 . PMID 37609637.
- ↑ Bonis, Louis de; Peigné, Stéphane; Guy, Franck; Mackaye, Hassane Taisso; Likius, Andossa; Vignaud, Patrick; Brunet, Michel (2010-10-01). "Hyaenidae (Carnivora) from the late Miocene of Toros-Menalla, Chad". Journal of African Earth Sciences. 58 (3): 561–579. Bibcode:2010JAfES..58..561B. doi:10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2010.06.003. ISSN 1464-343X.
