In Depth Maofelis is a genus of nimravid that lived in China during the late Eocene. Nimravids are also known as ‘false-sabre-toothed cats’ and this is because while they share a resemblance to the machairodonts which are the ‘true sabre-toothed cats’, nimravids are not true cats, and therefore not members of the Felidae, which machairodonts … Read more
Due to the fragmentary nature of the known fossil, not much can be said about Vampyrictis other than it appears to have been one of the last of the African barbourofelids.
In Depth Prosansanosmilus is similar to another European genus of barbourofelid called Sansanosmilus, but is known from deposits that are dated to being a few million years older than the earliest currently known fossils of Sansanosmilus, hence the addition of ‘Pro’ to the genus name. The early appearance of Prosansanosmilus is also revealed in its … Read more
In Depth Although fossil remains form China have been attributed to Sansanosmilus (for the species S. palmidans), most of the currently known fossils come from Europe. This would suggest that the highest population density for Sansanosmilus was in Europe, however caution should be used before coming to this conclusion since fossil deposits of certain times … Read more
In Depth As a barbourofelid Ginsburgsmilus is more popularly known as a ‘false sabre-toothed cat’ since the Barbourofelidae are not thought to related to modern cats of today beyond the fact that they are all members of the Carnivora. As such Ginsburgsmilus is related to other members of the Barbourofelidae such as Sansanosmilus, Prosansanosmilus, Afrosmilus … Read more
In Depth Although Afrosmilus superficially looks like an African big cat, it is actually a barbourfelid, a group of mammals that appeared before the big cats of the Felidae. However exactly how close barbourofelids are to true cats is actually a matter of debate amongst palaeontologists with some claiming that they are not related at … Read more