Dinofelis
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| Dinofelis Fossil range: Early Pliocene to Middle Pleistocene |
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 The species from Walking with Beasts is now Dinofelis aronoki
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At least 10, see text |
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Dinofelis ("terrible cat") is a genus of saber-toothed cats belonging to the tribe Metailurini. They were widespread in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America at least 5 million to about 1.4 million years ago (Early Pliocene to Early Pleistocene). Fossils very similar to Dinofelis from Lothagam range back to the Late Miocene, some 8 million years ago.
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[edit] Description and ecology
In size they were between a modern leopard and a lion, most being about the size of a jaguar (70 cm tall), medium-sized but powerful cats that possessed two prominent sabre teeth. They lived in forests and open woodlands across the world. Dinofelis were lone hunters, which would stalk their prey carefully before pouncing and swiftly killing it with the sharp claws.
The front limbs of Dinofelis were particularly strong and muscular, allowing it to pin struggling prey to the ground. Its short sabre-teeth could have been used to help deliver fatal wounds, especially to the neck region.
Dinofelis is known as a "false saber-tooth" cat because, instead of true saber-teeth, these cats had what appears to be a cross between long, flat saber-teeth and the cone-shaped teeth of the modern-day felines. The canine teeth of Dinofelis are flattened and only moderately long compared to the true sabertooths. The upper canines are relatively longer than in the extant snow leopard though. While the lower canines are robust, the cheek teeth are not nearly as robust as the lion and other neofelids.[1]
Dinofelis fossils and bones have been found in South Africa along with those of the baboons that it possibly killed. Bones from several specimens of Dinofelis and baboons were found in a natural trap. Dinofelis may have entered the place to feed on trapped animals or may have simply wandered into a location and was not able to escape again.
Dinofelis was very successful, and its fossils have been found all over the world (Europe, Asia, North America and Africa). However, it is its association with African hominids that really interests scientists. Several fossils sites from South Africa seem to show that Dinofelis was very fond of hunting Australopithecus afarensis.
It is thought that the gradual disappearance of the forests in which Dinofelis hunted may have contributed to its extinction at the start of the ice age.
[edit] Species[2]
Other undescribed species may exist.
- Dinofelis aronoki (East Africa) - recently split from D. barlowi
- Dinofelis barlowi (South Africa)
- Dinofelis cristata (China) - includes D. abeli
- Dinofelis darti (South Africa)
- Dinofelis diastemata (Europe)
- Dinofelis paleoonca (North America)
- Dinofelis petteri (East Africa)
- Dinofelis piveteaui (South Africa)
- Dinofelis sp. "Langebaanweg"
- Dinofelis sp. "Lothagam"
[edit] Footntoes
[edit] References
- Haines, Tom & Chambers, Paul (2006): The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life: 181. Firefly Books Ltd., Canada.
- Turner, Alan (1997): The Big Cats and their fossil relatives. Columbia University Press, New York. ISBN 0-231-10228-3
- Werdelin, Lars & Lewis, Margaret E. (2001): A revision of the genus Dinofelis (Mammalia, Felidae). Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 132(2): 147–258. doi:10.1006/zjls.2000.0260 (HTML abstract)
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