Eusmilus: Difference between revisions
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==Taxonomy== |
==Taxonomy== |
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[[File:Eusmilus bidentatus calco endocranico.JPG|upright|thumb|left|''E. bidentatus'' brain [[endocasts]]]] |
[[File:Eusmilus bidentatus calco endocranico.JPG|upright|thumb|left|''E. bidentatus'' brain [[endocasts]]]] |
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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]]''.<ref name=Barrett16/> |
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]]''.<ref name=Barrett16/>In 2016, all North American species were coined into another genus called [[Hoplophoneus]].<ref name=Barrett16/> |
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One study performed in 2016 suggests that ''Eusmilus'' is a non-valid genus, and moved all North American species to ''[[Hoplophoneus]]''.<ref name=Barrett16/> |
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==Morphology== |
==Morphology== |
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Revision as of 13:14, 7 February 2017
| Eusmilus Temporal range: Late Eocene to Early Oligocene,
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| Eusmilus bidentatus jaw | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | †Nimravidae |
| Subfamily: | †Hoplophoninae |
| Genus: | †Eusmilus |
| Type species | |
| Eusmilus bidentatus (Filhol, 1873)
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| Species | |
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†E. 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]In 2016, all North American species were coined into another genus called 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]
Growth and Development
Eusmilus cubs and adolescents have been discovered, and examinations of their skeletons indicates that their saber-teeth emerged late in life, indicating the animals were dependent on their mothers for a relatively long period. The milk teeth of Eusmilus, upon their eruption, were large enough to allow it to hunt effectively. The added advantage of these milk sabers was that because of the late growth of the permanent sabers, if the milk saber-teeth were damaged, the nimravid had a chance to grow a new set of saber-teeth, allowing it to continue hunting.[3]
References
- ^ a b c Barrett, P.Z. (2016). "Taxonomic and systematic revisions to the North American Nimravidae (Mammalia, Carnivora)". PeerJ. 4: e1658. doi:10.7717/peerj.1658.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ 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.
- ^ Anton, Mauricio (2013). Sabertooth.
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