Nimravidae
Nimravidae Temporal range:
| |
---|---|
Hoplophoneus mentalis | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Suborder: | Feliformia |
Superfamily: | †Nimravoidea |
Family: | †Nimravidae Cope, 1880 |
Genera[2] | |
|
Nimravidae is an
The barbourofelids, which were formerly classified as a subfamily of the Nimravidae, were reassigned to their own distinct family Barbourofelidae in 2004.[4] However, some recent (2020) studies suggest the barbourofelids are a branch of the nimravids, suggesting that this debate might not be settled yet.[5]
Morphology and evolution
Most nimravids had muscular, low-slung, cat-like bodies, with shorter legs and tails than are typical of cats. Unlike
Although some nimravids physically resembled the
The ancestors of nimravids and cats diverged from a common ancestor soon after the
A 2021 study has shown that a sizeable number of species developed feline-like morphologies in addition to saber-toothed taxa.[10]
Taxonomy
The family Nimravidae was named by American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope in 1880,[11] with the type genus as Nimravus. The family was assigned to Fissipedia by Cope (1889); to Caniformia by Flynn and Galiano (1982); to Aeluroidea by Carroll (1988); to Feliformia by Bryant (1991); and to Carnivoramorpha, by Wesley-Hunt and Werdelin (2005).[12]
Nimravids are placed in tribes by some authors to reflect closer relationships between genera within the family. Some nimravids evolved into large, toothed, cat-like forms with massive flattened upper canines and accompanying mandibular flanges. Some had dentition similar to felids, or modern cats, with smaller canines. Others had moderately increased canines in a more intermediate relationship between the saber-toothed cats and felids. The upper canines were not only shorter, but also more conical, than those of the true saber-toothed cats (Machairodontinae). These nimravids are referred to as "false saber-tooths".
Not only did nimravids exhibit diverse dentition, but they also showed the same diversity in size and morphology as cats. Some were leopard-sized, others the size of today's lions and tigers, one had the short face, rounded skull, and smaller canines of the modern cheetah, and one, Nanosmilus, was only the size of a small bobcat.
The Barbourofelids were for a while no longer included in Nimravidae, following elevation to family as sister clade to the true cats (family Felidae).[13][14] However, several recent studies have returned them to Nimravidae, including as part of Nimravinae.[2][10]
Tribe | Image | Genus | Species |
---|---|---|---|
†Dinailurictis (Helbing, 1922) |
| ||
†Dinictis (Leidy, 1854) |
| ||
†Eofelis (Kretzoi, 1938) |
| ||
†Maofelis[15] (Averianov et al., 2016) |
| ||
†Pangurban[1] (Poust et al, 2022) |
| ||
†Pogonodon (Cope, 1880) |
| ||
†Quercylurus (Ginsburg 1979) |
| ||
†Nimravini | †Dinaelurus (Eaton, 1922) |
| |
†Nimravus (Cope, 1879) |
| ||
†Hoplophoneini | †Hoplophoneus[16] (Cope, 1874) |
| |
†Nanosmilus (Martin, 1992) |
|
Phylogeny
The phylogenetic relationships of Nimravidae are shown in the following cladogram:[15][16][17]
A 2021 study divides Nimravidae into Hoplophoninae and Nimravinae, the latter including the bulk of species in addition to barbourofelids.
Phylogeny of Nimravidae from the 2022 description of Pangurban:[1]
Nimravidae |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Natural history
Nimravids appeared in the middle of the Eocene epoch, about 40 Mya, in North America and Asia. The global climate at this time was warm and wet, but was trending cooler and drier toward the late Eocene. The lush forests of the Eocene were transforming to scrub and open woodland. This climatic trend continued in the Oligocene, and nimravids evidently flourished in this environment. North America and Asia were connected and shared much related fauna.[18] Europe in the Oligocene was more of an archipelago than a continent, though some land bridges must have existed, for nimravids also spread there.
In the Miocene, the fossil record suggests that many animals suited for living in forest or woodland were replaced by grazers suited for grassland. This suggests that much of North America and Asia became dominated by savanna. Nimravids disappeared along with the woodlands, but survived in relictual humid forests in Europe to the late Miocene. When conditions ultimately changed there in the late Miocene, the last nimravids disappeared about 9 Mya.[18]
References
- ^ S2CID 252818430.
- ^ PMID 34702935.
- ^ Nimravidae in the Paleobiology Database
- .
- S2CID 211545222.
- ISBN 0-231-10228-3.
- ISBN 9780253010421.
- ^ "Meet the Cat Family". Junior Observer. The Sunday Observer. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Associated Newspapers of Ceylon. July 16, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
- JSTOR 1381980.
- ^ S2CID 236221655.
- ^ Cope, E. D. (1889). "Synopsis of the Families of Vertebrata". The American Naturalist. 23: 1–29.
- hdl:2246/5338.
- .
- ISBN 978-0-19-923445-5.
- ^ PMID 27161785.
- ^ PMID 26893959.
- S2CID 86827900.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-253-34733-6.
External links
- Peigné, Stephane; De Bonis, Louis (August 2003). "Juvenile cranial anatomy of Nimravidae (Mammalia, Carnivora): biological and phylogenetic implications". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 138 (4): 477–493. .
- Data related to Nimravidae at Wikispecies