Machairodus

Taxobox
name = "Machairodus"
fossil_range = Middle Miocene to Late Pliocene
status = Fossil


image_width = 250px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
ordo = Carnivora
familia = Felidae
subfamilia = †Machairodontinae
tribus = †Machairodontini
genus = †"Machairodus"
genus_authority = Kaup, 1833
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = †"Machairodus africanus"
†"Machairodus aphanistus"
†"Machairodus giganteus"
†"Machairodus oradensis"
†"Machairodus colorandensis"
†"Machairodus transvaalensis"
†"Machairodus alberdiae"
†"Machairodus copei"
†"Machairodus laskarevi"
†"Machairodus irtyschensis"
†"Machairodus kabir"
†"Machairodus kurteni"
†"Machairodus fires"
†"Machairodus ischimicus"
†"Machairodus schlosseri"
†"Machairodus palanderi"
†"Machairodus palmidens"
†"Machairodus inexpectatus"
†"Machairodus giganteus"
†"(Amphimachairodus giganteus)

"Machairodus" was a genus of large, machairodontine saber-toothed cats that lived in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America from approximately 13 million years ago to 2 million years ago. Species of "Machairodus" expressed great variation in size and proportions, with the largest being about the size of a lion. They all possessed serrated edges on their large canine teeth, though these wore down within a few years of the creature's life. [cite book |last=Turner |first=Alan |year=1997 |title= The Big Cats and their fossil relatives|publisher= Columbia University Press|location=New York|pages= 43-48|isbn= 0-231-10228-3] It is the likely ancestor of the genus "Homotherium". "Machairodus" was itself descended from "Proailurus", as were all true cats.

References