*** Welcome to piglix ***

Rhizosmilodon

Rhizosmilodon
Temporal range: Early Pliocene
Rhizosmilodon.png
Fossil specimens
Fossil
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Machairodontinae
Tribe: Smilodontini
Genus: Rhizosmilodon
Species
  • Rhizosmilodon fiteae Wallace & Hulbert, 2013

Rhizosmilodon is an extinct genus of saber-tooth cat of the subfamily Machairodontinae that lived during the Early Pliocene and was discovered in the U.S. state of Florida. Comparable in size to a medium-sized modern jaguar at about 165 lb. in weight, Rhizosmilodon is known only from Florida (though it likely inhabited other areas of North America. The best specimens for this species are its lower jaw and teeth, which carry intermediate characteristics between advanced forms such as Smilodon and primitive forms such as Paramachairodus. It was likely an ambush predator, preying on animals such as deer, tapirs and horses.

Phylogenetic relationships of Rhizosmilodon with other Machairodonts based on analysis of 37 cranio-mandibular characters.


Proailurus lemanensis

Promegantereon ogygia

Paramachaerodus orientalis

Paramachaerodus maximiliani

Rhizosmilodon fiteae

Smilodon gracilis

Smilodon fatalis

Smilodon populator

Megantereon cultridens

Megantereon hesperus

Machairodus aphanistus

Machairodus coloradensis

Homotherium serum





...
Wikipedia

...