Machairodus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Machairodus Fossil range: Middle Miocene to Late Pliocene |
||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||||||||
| Conservation status | ||||||||||||||||
|
Fossil
|
||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| Species | ||||||||||||||||
|
†Machairodus africanus |
Machairodus was a genus of large, machairodontine saber-toothed cats that lived in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America from approximately 13 million years ago to 2 million years ago. Species of Machairodus expressed great variation in size and proportions, with the largest being about the size of a lion. They all possessed serrated edges on their large canine teeth, though these wore down within a few years of the creature's life.[1]
It is the likely ancestor of the genus Homotherium. Machairodus was itself descended from Proailurus, as were all true cats.
[edit] References
- ^ Turner, Alan (1997). The Big Cats and their fossil relatives. New York: Columbia University Press, 43-48. ISBN 0-231-10228-3.
 This prehistoric mammal-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 |
This feline-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
