Machaeroides

<i>Machaeroides</i>

Machaeroides

Extinct genus of carnivores

Not to be confused with Machairodus.

Machaeroides ("dagger-like") is an extinct genus of sabre-toothed predatory placental mammals from extinct subfamily Machaeroidinae within extinct family Oxyaenidae, that lived in North America (Wyoming) from the early to middle Eocene.

Quick Facts Scientific classification, Type species ...

Description

Both species bore a passing or superficial resemblance to a very small, dog-sized saber-toothed cat. Machaeroides could be distinguished from actual saber-toothed cats by their more-elongated skulls, and their plantigrade stance. Machaeroides species are distinguished from the closely related Apataelurus by the fact that the former genus had smaller saber-teeth. Despite its small size, the genus Machairoides was well-equipped to hunt prey larger than itself, such as the small, primitive horses and rhinoceroses present at the time, as it was equipped with saber teeth and powerful forelimbs to subdue prey.[3]

M. eothen weighed an estimated 10–14 kg (22–31 lb), thus matching in size a small Staffordshire Terrier. M. simpsoni was probably smaller.[4]

Taxonomic placement

Its position within the mammals has been in dispute. Experts have been equally divided over whether Machaeroides and its sister-genus, Apataelurus, belong in Oxyaenidae or Hyaenodonta, though as of 2014 the most recent studies favor the former.[5]

References

  1. [1]
    W. D. Matthew. (1909.) "The Carnivora and Insectivora of the Bridger Basin, middle Eocene." Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History 9:289-567
  2. [2]
    M. R. Dawson, R. K. Stucky, L. Krishtalka and C. C. Black. (1986.) "Machaeroides simpsoni, new species, oldest known sabertooth creodont (Mammalia), of the Lost Cabin Eocene." Contributions to Geology, University of Wyoming, Special Paper 3:177-182
  3. [3]
    Antón, Mauricio (2013). Sabertooth. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-01049-0.
  4. [4]
    Egi, Naoko1 (2001). "Body Mass Estimates in Extinct Mammals from Limb Bone Dimensions: the Case of North American Hyaenodontids". Palaeontology. 44 (3): 497–528. Bibcode:2001Palgy..44..497E. doi:10.1111/1475-4983.00189.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. [5]
    Zack, S. (2014). "Saber-tooth origins: a new skeletal association and the affinities of Machaeroidinae (Mammalia, Creodonta)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Program and Abstracts: 259–260.


Stub icon

This prehistoric mammal-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Machaeroides, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.