Metailurini
| Metailurini Temporal range: Late Miocene–Middle Pleistocene | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | †Machairodontinae |
| Tribe: | †Metailurini |
| Genera | |
|
†Adelphailurus | |
Metailurini is an extinct tribe of large saber-toothed cats that lived in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America during the Miocene to Pleistocene.[1]
Metailurini had canines longer than neofelids, but smaller than true saber toothed cats. The teeth were also are more conical than flat. Traditionally, the tribe was placed within Machairodontinae; however, today, they are often regarded as members of the subfamily Felinae by some authors,[2] although this view is not universal.[3][4] They existed from the Miocene to early Pleistocene, with most species being found in Eurasia.
Members of this tribe were all "scimitar-toothed", having broad and mildly elongated upper canines. Like most extinct cats, the majority of species in Metailurini are known primarily from fragments. However, the systematic position and taxonomy of these creatures is now accepted as being true members of Felidae and descended from Proailurus and Pseudaelurus.[5]
The best known genera in this tribe are Dinofelis and Metailurus.
References
- ↑ PaleoBiology Database: Metailurini, basic info
- ↑ Lars W. van den Hoek Ostende, Michael Morlo, Doris Nagel: Fossils explained 52 Majestic killers: the sabre-toothed cats. Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Geology Today, Vol. 22, No. 4, July–August 2006 online
- ↑ Salesa, M., et al. (2012). "A rich community of Felidae (Mammalia, Carnivora) from the late Miocene (Turolian, MN 13) site of Las Casiones (Villalba Baja, Teruel, Spain)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32 (3): 658–676. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.649816.
- ↑ Meloro, C. & Slater, G.J. (2012). "Covariation in the skull modules of cats: the challenge of growing saber-like canines". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32 (3): 677–685. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.649328.
- ↑ Wesley-Hunt, Gina D.; Flynn, John J. (2005). "Phylogeny of the Carnivora: basal relationships among the Carnivoramorphans, and assessment of the position of ‘Miacoidea’ relative to Carnivora". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 3: 1–28. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2005.00194.x
 |
Wikispecies has information related to: Metailurini |