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Saber-toothed cat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The terms saber-toothed cat, sabertooth, and saber-toothed tiger describe numerous species, mainly in the families Felidae (subfamily Machairodontinae), Hyaenodontidae, and Nimravidae, but also including two marsupial families, that lived during various parts of the Cenozoic and evolved their saber-toothed characteristics entirely independently. They are most known for having maxillary canines which were in some species up to 20 cm long, and extended down from the mouth even when closed. Saber-tooth cats were generally more robust than today's cats and were quite bear-like in build.
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The first saber-toothed cats appeared sometime during the Mid-Eocene, and the last genera died out thousands of years ago. The genera of saber-toothed cats, along with the regions and time periods where they have been found, is summarized here.
| Genus Name | Number of Species | Times | Regions |
| Smilodon | 6 | 2.5 MYA to 8,000 YA | North and South America |
| Hoplophoneus | 5 | 33.7 MYA to 23.8 MYA | North and South America |
| Eusmilis | 3 | 30.5 MYA to 28 MYA | Europe, North America, South America |
| Dinictis | 4 | 40 MYA to 25 MYA | North America |
| Dinaelurus | 1 | ? | North America |
| Dinailurictis | 1 | ? | ? |
| Eofelis | 1 | ? | ? |
| Nimravidus (Nimravides) | 2 | ? | ? |
| Nimravus (Nimravinus) | 6 | 33.5 MYA to 20 MYA | Europe and North America |
| Nimraviscus | 1 | ? | ? |
| Pogonodon | 2 | 15 MYA to 6 MYA | Europe and North America |
| Quercylurus | 1 | ? | ? |
| Archaelurus | 1 | ? | ? |
| Aelurogale (Ailurictis) | 1 | ? | ? |
| Ictidailurus | 1 | ? | ? |
| Albanosmilus | 3 | 18 MYA to 3 MYA | Africa and Eurasia |
| Afrosmilus | 1 | 25 MYA to 10 MYA | Africa |
| Barbourofelis | 7 | 15 MYA to 3 MYA | Africa and Eurasia |
| Ginsburgsmilus | 1 | 23 MYA to 10 MYA | Africa |
| Prosansanosmilus | 2 | 18 MYA to 5 MYA | Africa and Eurasia |
| Sansanosmilus | 3 | 12 MYA to 3 MYA | Africa and Eurasia |
| Syrtosmilus | 1 | 23 MYA to 8 MYA | Africa |
| Vampyrictis | 1 | 15 MYA to 3 MYA | Africa and Eurasia |
| Vishnusmilus | 1 | ? | ? |
| Homotherium | 10 | 3 MYA to 10,000 YA | Europe and Asia |
| Thylacosmilus (marsupial) | 2 | 10 MYA to 1.8 MYA | South America |
| Metailurus | 9 | 15 MYA to 8 MYA | Eurasia |
| Adelphailurus | 1 | 23 MYA to 5 MYA | Kansas (North America) |
| Paramachairodus | 3 | 20-15 MYA to 9 MYA | Europe |
| Machairodus (Ancestral to Homotherium) | 18 | 15 MYA to 2 MYA | Africa, Europe, Asia, and North America |
| Megantereon | 8 | 3 MYA to 9,000 YA | Africa, Eurasia, and North America |
| Dinofelis | 6 | 5 MYA to 1.5 MYA | Africa, Eurasia, North America |
| Therailurus | 1 | 5 MYA to 2 MYA | Africa, Eurasia, North America |
| Pontosmilus | 4 | 20 MYA to 9 MYA | Eurasia |
| Xenosmilus (1 specimen) | 1 | 1.7 MYA to 1 MYA | Central Florida (North America) |
| Stenailurus | 1 | (?) | (?) |
| Dinobastis | 1 | (?) | Asia |
| Epimachairodus | 1 | (?) | (?) |
| Miomachairodus | 1 | (?) | (?) |
| Hemimachairodus | 1 | (?) | (?) |
| Ischyrosmilus | 1 | (?) | (?) |
All saber-tooth mammals lived between 33.7 million and 9,000 years ago, but the evolutionary lines that lead to the various saber-tooth genera started to diverge much earlier.
The lineage that led to Thylacosmilus was the first to split off, in the late Cretaceous. It is a marsupial, and thus more closely related to kangaroos and opossums than the felines. The creodonts diverged next, and then the nimravids, before the blossoming of the truly feline saber-tooths.
- Class Mammalia
- Subclass Marsupialia (diverged ? MYA, in the Cretaceous)
- Order Sparassodonta (an extinct group of marsupial carnivores)
- Family Borhyaenidae
- Family Thylacosmilidae
- Order Sparassodonta (an extinct group of marsupial carnivores)
- Subclass Placentalia
- Order Creodonta (diverged ? MYA, in the Paleocene)
- Order Carnivora
- Family Nimravidae (diverged from the feliforms 48–55 MYA, in the late Eocene)
- Subfamily Nimravinae (Dinictis)
- Subfamily Hoplophoninae
- Suborder Feliformia ('cat-like' carnivores)
- Family Barbourofelidae (sister taxa to Felidae)
- Family Felidae (true cats)
- Subfamily Machairodontinae (diverged ? MYA, in the ?)
- Family Nimravidae (diverged from the feliforms 48–55 MYA, in the late Eocene)
- Subclass Marsupialia (diverged ? MYA, in the Cretaceous)