Xenosmilus
Name:
Xenosmilus
(Foreign knife).
Phonetic: Zee-no-smi-lus.
Named By: Martin, Babiarz, Naples &
Hearst 2000.
Classification: Chordata, Mammalia, Carnivora,
Felidae, Machairodontinae, Machairodontini.
Species: X. hodsonae (type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: 1.7 to 1.8 meters long.
Known locations: USA, Florida, Alachua County.
Time period: Calabrian of the Pleistocene.
Fossil representation: Remains of two almost
complete individuals.
Although
not as famous as Smilodon,
Xenosmilus was nonetheless an
exceptionally powerful Pleistocene era big cat that is estimated to
have weighed
between 230-400 kg. This estimate puts Xenosmilus
within the
same weight class as the largest species of Smilodon,
and even though
it was smaller, Xenosmilus would have been
proportionately stronger
for its size.
Xenosmilus
had been placed within the Machairodontinae group of sabre-toothed
cats, mainly because of the large forward canines. However the
canines were not as long as they were in other species, although the
teeth in general do seem to be more robust possibly indicating that
prey was still alive and struggling when they were brought into use.
However the immensely powerful build of Xenosmilus
meant that it
was capable of wrestling almost any prey to the ground with ease,
suggesting that teeth breakage would not have to be risked.
Because
Xenosmilus has a powerful short legged build
associated with the dirk
toothed cats combined with broad upper canines as seen in the scimitar
tooth cats, its exact classification has been a subject of some
confusion. It could be that Xenosmilus displays a
link between the
two cat groups, or alternatively the features of Xenosmilus
are
simply a freak case of convergent evolution.
Xenosmilus
is estimated to have lived one million years ago during the Calabrian
phase of the Pleistocene. However because only the two specimens from
the same locale are known, the full temporal range of Xenosmilus
in
the fossil record cannot be established. However this placement does
reveal that potential competition for Xenosmilus
could have come from
the earlier species of Smilodon, Dire
wolves, and possibly the Dire
wolf ancestor, Armbruster's
Wolf.
One
of the prey animals chosen by Xenosmilus are
peccaries, often
referred to as New World Pigs. This is confirmed by the presence of
numerous peccary bones found in association with the Xenosmilus
remains, and during the Pleistocene peccaries would have provided an
abundant food source.
Further reading
- Three ways to be a saber-toothed cat. - Naturwissenschaften 87:41-44
- L. D. Martin, J. P. Babiarz, V. L. Naples & J. Hearst - 2000.
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