Metailurus

Metailurus
Temporal range: Miocene–Pleistocene
Metailurus skeleton
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Carnivora
Suborder:Feliformia
Family:Felidae
Subfamily:†Machairodontinae
Tribe:†Metailurini
Genus:†Metailurus
Zdansky, 1924
Species

M. major Zdansky, 1924
M. mongoliensis Colbert, 1939
M. ultimus Li, 2014
M. boodon

Range of Metailurus based on fossil record

Metailurus is a genus of saber-toothed cat in the family Machairodontidae, and belonging to the tribe Metailurini, which occurred in North America, Eurasia and Africa from the Miocene to the Middle Pleistocene.[1][2][3] Metailurus minor has been reassigned to the felid genus Yoshi.[4]

Description

Metailurus is commonly referred to by some as a "false sabertooth" cat, because instead of true saberteeth, it has a cross between long, flat and blade-like saberteeth and the shorter cone-shaped teeth of modern-day felines. This moniker however, is also used colloquially for the members of the Nimravidae, and can lead to confusion with these feliforms. The canines are longer than those of even the clouded leopard, but significantly shorter than true saber teeth, and more conical than bladed.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ McKenna, M. C.; Bell, S. K. (1997). Classification of Mammals: Above the Species Level. Columbia University Press. p. 631. ISBN 978-0-231-11013-6.
  2. ↑ "Fossilworks: Metailurus". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
  3. ↑ Antón, Mauricio (2013-11-22). Sabertooth. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253010490.
  4. ↑ Nikolai Spassov; Denis Geraads (2015). "A New Felid from the Late Miocene of the Balkans and the Contents of the Genus Metailurus Zdansky, 1924 (Carnivora, Felidae)". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 22 (1): 45–56. doi:10.1007/s10914-014-9266-5.
  5. ↑ Turner, Alan; Antón, Mauricio (1997). The Big Cats and their fossil relatives. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-10228-3.


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