Metailurus
Metailurus Temporal range: Miocene–Pleistocene | |
---|---|
Metailurus skeleton | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Family: | Felidae |
Subfamily: | Machairodontinae |
Tribe: | Metailurini |
Genus: | Metailurus Zdansky (1924) |
Species | |
M. major Zdansky, 1924 | |
Range of Metailurus based on fossil record |
Metailurus is a genus of felid saber-toothed cat in the family Machairodontidae and belonging to the tribe Metailurini, which occurred in Asia and Africa from the Miocene to the Pleistocene.[1][2]
Metailurus is known 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. The canines are longer than even the clouded leopard but significantly shorter than true saber teeth and more conical than bladed.[3]
"Metailurus" minor Zdansky, 1924 has been reassigned to the felid genus Yoshi.[4]
References
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Fossilworks: Metailurus". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
- ↑ Turner, A and Mauricio Anton. Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives 1997. Columbia University Press. New York.
- ↑ 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.
- Data related to Metailurus at Wikispecies
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/9/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.