Eusmilus
| Eusmilus Temporal range: Late Eocene to Early Oligocene, 37.2–28.4 Ma | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | †Nimravidae |
| Subfamily: | †Hoplophoninae |
| Genus: | †Eusmilus |
| Type species | |
| Eusmilus bidentatus (Filhol, 1873) | |
| Species | |
|
†Eusmilus bidentatus (Filhol, 1873) (type) | |
Eusmilus ('true sabre') is a prehistoric genus of nimravid that lived in Europe during the Late Eocene to Early Oligocene epochs (37.2—28.4 mya).[1]
Taxonomy
There are two valid species of Eusmilus, E. bidentatus and E. villebramarensis. Ekgmoiteptecela MacDonald, 1963 was synonymized with Eusmilus by some authors, but is actually synonymous with Hoplophoneus.[1]
Morphology
Eusmilus had a long body and was about as tall as a leopard. It had developed long saber teeth and looked like a saber-toothed cat, but was actually a so-called 'false saber-tooth'. Most were leopard-sized and rather long-bodied and short-legged compared to modern leopards. Some reached 2.5 metres (8 ft) long. Eusmilus had lost many other teeth, possessing only 26 instead of the 44 usually seen in carnivore mammals. Its mouth could open to an angle of 90 degrees, allowing the creature to properly use its saber teeth. Bony flanges projected from Eusmilus ' lower jaw to protect the sabers (this is also seen in the unrelated marsupial Thylacosmilus and felid Megantereon). There is fossil evidence of conflict between Eusmilus and Nimravus, another genus of nimravid.[2]
References
- 1 2 Paul Z. Barrett (2016). "Taxonomic and systematic revisions to the North American Nimravidae (Mammalia, Carnivora)". PeerJ 4: e1658. doi:10.7717/peerj.1658.
- ↑ Dixon, Dougal; Cox, Barry; Savage, R.J.G.; Gardiner, Brian (1988). The Macmillan Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals: A Visual Who's Who of Prehistoric Life. Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 224. ISBN 0-02-580191-0.