Paramachairodus
| Paramachairodus Temporal range: Middle Miocene–Late Miocene | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | †Machairodontinae |
| Tribe: | †Smilodontini |
| Genus: | †Paramachairodus Pilgrim, 1913 |
| Species | |
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Paramachairodus (alternately Paramachaerodus) is an extinct genus of saber-tooth cat of the subfamily Machairodontinae, which was endemic to Europe and Asia during the late Miocene from 15 to 9 Ma.[1]
Paramachairodus is one of the oldest known true saber-toothed cats. A large number of fossils were discovered in Cerro de los Batallones, a Late Miocene fossil site near Madrid, Spain. Two leopard-sized species are known, Paramachairodus ogygia from Vallesian to early Turolian age and Paramachairodus orientalis from the Turolian. A third species, Paramachairodus maximiliani, is considered a synonym of Paramachairodus orientalis by most authors.[2]
The animals were about 58 centimetres (23 in) high at the shoulder, similar to a leopard, but with a more supple body. The shape of its limbs suggests that it may have been an agile climber, and could have hunted relatively large prey.[3]
References
- ↑ Paleobiology Database: Paramachairodus Basic info.
- ↑ SALESA, MANUEL J.; ANTON, MAURICIO; TURNER, ALAN; MORALES, JORGE (2005). "Aspects of the functional morphology in the cranial and cervical skeleton of the sabre-toothed cat Paramachairodus ogygia (Kaup, 1832) (Felidae, Machairodontinae) from the Late Miocene of Spain: implications for the origins of the machairodont killing bite". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 144 (3): 363–377. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2005.00174.x.
- ↑ Turner, Alan (1997). The Big Cats and their fossil relatives. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 60. ISBN 0-231-10228-3.
External links
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