Fortunictis

Pons-Moyà described the species' diagnostic characteristics as: curved, highly laterally compressed upper canine teeth; elongated crown and no mesial cusp on the third premolar; high, transversely compressed cusps on the fourth premolar and lower; and a highly compressed first molar with a long talonid with a hypoconid cusp, but lacking the metaconid cusp.^[1]

A later study further noted that F. acerensis was a highly derived metailurin with a relatively slender mandible. It further described the upper canine teeth as more flattened, the upper and lower third premolars as very elongated, and both the third and fourth premolars as well as the first molar all narrower than the related Metailurus major.^[4]

In 2001, the measurements of teeth from Fortunictis were used in comparison to Metailurus major along with Stenailurus telihardi and Paramachairodus orientalis. Only the upper dentation was mentioned. The canine teeth of Fortunictis had a length of 17.9 mm and a width of 8.9 mm. The P3 had lengths of 19.7 mm and 19.9 mm and widths of 9.0 mm and 8.7 mm. The P4 only had one length measurement at 30.8 mm and two width measurements at 14.3 mm and 14.2 mm. No measurements for M1 teeth were mentioned.^[5]

A 2014 study of the species Yoshi minor and Yoshi garevskii describe the measurements of multiple metailurine teeth, including Fortunictis. The length of the canines of Fortunictis were described as being >52 mm in height, and a mesiodistal diameter (front to back in felids) of 17.9 mm. Which was noted to be much larger than the canines of Yoshi garevskii and comparable to those of Metailurus major and Stenailurus telihardi.^[6]

In a 2018 description of the small machairodont species Tchadailurus adei, it is mentioned that Fortunictis is far larger, (50%) than the holotype specimen of Tchadailurus, TM 112-00-99.^[7]

Fortunictis was assigned to the tribe Metailurini in the subfamily Machairodontinae in its original description.^[1]

A cladogram of the Metailurini from a 2018 phylogenetic analysis:^[8]