Sansanosmilus

San-san-oh-smilus.
Published on

Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Sansanosmilus ‭(‬Sansan knife‭)‬.

Phonetic

San-san-oh-smilus.

Named By

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Carnivora,‭ ‬Feliformia,‭ ‬Barbourofelidae.

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

S.‭ ‬jourdani,‭ ‬S.‭ ‬jourdani vallesiensis,‭ ‬S.‭ ‬palmidens,‭ *‬S.‭ ‬vallesiensis‭

Size

About‭ ‬1.5‭ ‬meters long,‭ ‬80‭ ‬kilograms in weight.

Known locations

Eurasia.

Time Period

Serravallian of the Miocene.

Fossil representation

Several specimens.

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 are evenly distributed across the globe,‭ ‬nor is the level of faunal inclusion in these deposits absolute.‭ ‬For this reason the geographical and temporal distributions of extinct animals including Sansanosmilus are usually a case of best educated guess.

       At around one and a half metres long and with a weight estimate of about eighty kilograms,‭ ‬Sansanosmilus was quite a bit smaller than the type genus of the Barbourofelidae,‭ ‬Barbourofelis.‭ ‬Additionally the enlarged upper canine teeth of Sansanosmilus were a little smaller as well.‭ ‬Together these might suggest a prey specialisation for smaller animals that did not require as much brute strength to take down,‭ ‬although the robust skeleton of Sansanosmilus is indicative of a powerful musculature.‭ ‬Also smaller prey would not require such large canines for a killing bite,‭ ‬perhaps across a more vulnerable area such as the neck.

       Other barbourofelids include Prosansanosmilus and Ginsburgsmilus,‭ ‬Vampyrictis and Syrtosmilus amongst others.

Further Reading

– New craniodental remains of the barbourofelid Albanosmilus jourdani (Filhol, 1883) from the Miocene of the Vall�s-Pened�s Basin (NE Iberian Peninsula) and the phylogeny of the Barbourofelini. – Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. – Josep M. Robles, David M. Alba, Josep Fortuny, Soledad De Esteban-Trivigno, Cheyenn Rotgers, Jordi Balaguer, Ra�l Carmona, Jordi Galindo, Sergio Alm�cija, Juan V. Bert� & Salvador Moy�-Sol� – 2011.

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