Hoplophoneus
Hoplophoneus | |
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H. primaevus skeleton, Zurich natural history museum
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Suborder: | Feliformia |
Family: | †Nimravidae |
Subfamily: | † Hoplophoninae
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Genus: | †Hoplophoneus Cope, 1874 |
Species | |
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Synonyms | |
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Hoplophoneus (Greek: "murder" (phonos), "weapon" (hoplo)
Taxonomy
In 2016, all North American species of Eusmilus were placed in Hoplophoneus by Paul Z. Barrett.[3]
Description
Hoplophoneus, though not a true cat, was similar to cats in outward appearance, though with a robust body and shorter legs. The largest known specimen was examined by Sorkin (2008) for
Hoplophoneus occidentalis was about the size of a large
Pathology
An adult specimen of Hoplophoneus discovered in Badlands National Park, South Dakota, in 2010 by paleontologist Clint Boyd et al. was found to have bite marks on its skull from the teeth of another adult individual of Hoplophoneus. From examination of the wounds, it was found that the animal had been wounded by its rival's saber-teeth. Regrowth of bone around the injuries shows that the nimravid survived the attack. Similar finds also reveal that such fights were likely commonplace among nimravids and that they would often aim for the back of the skulls and eyes of their opponents.[6]
References
- ^ "Glossary. American Museum of Natural History". Archived from the original on 20 November 2021.
- ^ Turner, Alan. National Geographic Prehistoric Mammals. National Geographic, 2004., pp.120-121
- ^ Barrett PZ. (2016) Taxonomic and systematic revisions to the North American Nimravidae (Mammalia, Carnivora) PeerJ 4:e1658 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1658
- .
- ISBN 978-0-231-10228-5.
- ^ The Dakota Badlands Used to Host Sabertoothed Pseudo-Cat Battles