Dinofelis
| Dinofelis | ||||||||||||
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Pliocene to Pleistocene | ||||||||||||
| 5 to 1.4 million years | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Dinofelis | ||||||||||||
| Zdansky , 1924 | ||||||||||||
Dinofelis ("Dread Cat ") is an extinct species of cats from the Pliocene and Pleistocene . Like other metailurine cats, it has long been assigned to the saber-toothed cats (Machairodontinae). Today, despite the elongated upper canines, these no longer count as saber-tooth cats in the narrower sense.
features
Dinofelis' body length was between that of leopard and lion . In physique, he might have resembled a jaguar . The canine teeth, which were only slightly flattened on the sides, were relatively small compared to those of the saber-toothed cats and were more reminiscent of today's cats. In terms of teeth and body features, this metal-urine cat has morphologically approximated the big cats. This is particularly evident in the African species D. barlowi and the Asian species D. cristata . This trend was reversed with the youngest species D. piveteaui , which corresponded more to the saber-toothed cat-like type. Only a few studies have been carried out to date on the exact body proportions of the species. For example, the forearms of the front legs were relatively short in specimens from South Africa, which is typical of forest-dwelling cats such as the jaguar. The front legs were strong, but the rear legs were rather weak. Overall, these characteristics suggest that Dinofelis was not a particularly fast runner.
Types and distribution
Fossil discoveries of dinofelis are known in Eurasia, North America and Africa, with the African continent must have been the center of the evolutionary development. The oldest species of the genus are D. abeli from Asia, D. diastemata from Europe and D. paleoonca from North America. However, the two Asian species D. cristata and D. abeli have recently been combined into one species, with the older name D. cristata being valid. Some specimens from a Mio Pliocene site on Langebaanweg in South Africa were ascribed to the European species, but could also belong to the African species D. barlowi . Another African species is D. piveteaui , of which a very well preserved skull from South Africa is dated 1.5 million years ago. Some finds that were originally described as an independent genus Therailurus are now also attributed to Dinofelis .
Way of life
Dinofelis was certainly a carnivore, but little is known about its way of life in general. Remains of three of these cats were found along with some baboon fossils, all of which appear to have died in some sort of natural trap. It is therefore sometimes assumed that Dinofelis preferred to hunt well-fortified primates such as baboons and possibly early humans.
Systematics
Internal systematics of the Machairodontinae according to Piras et al. 2018
| Machairodontinae |
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die out
The time of extinction cannot be precisely determined. Outside of Africa the species has been quite rare at all times, in Africa Dinofelis seems to have become extinct about 1.4 million years ago. However, the genus could possibly have survived here with D. piveteaui until about a million years ago.
literature
- Alan Turner: The big cats and their fossil relatives. Columbia University Press, New York NY 1997, ISBN 0-231-10229-1 .
- Lars Werdelin, Margaret E. Lewis: A revision of the genus Dinofelis (Mammalia, Felidae). In: Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. Vol. 132, No. 2, June 2001, ISSN 0024-4082 , pp. 147-258.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Paolo Pirasa, Daniele Silvestro, Francesco Carotenuto, Silvia Castiglione, Anastassios Kotsakis, Leonardo Maiorino, Marina Melchionna, Alessandro Mondanaro, Gabriele Sansalone, Carmela Serio, Veronica Anna Vero, Pasquale Raia: Evolution of the sabertooth mandible: A deadly ecomorphological specialization. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 496, 2018, pp. 166–174, doi: 10.1016 / j.palaeo.2018.01.034
