Nimravus
Extinct genus of carnivores
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nimravus is an extinct genus of "false" saber-toothed cat that lived in North America and Eurasia during the Eocene and Oligocene epochs 35.3—27.1 mya,[1] existing for approximately 7.9 million years. Not closely related to true saber-toothed cats, they evolved a similar form through parallel evolution. Fossils have been uncovered from western U.S. from Oregon to Southern California and Nebraska, and also from Eurasia from France to Mongolia.
| Nimravus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| N. brachyops skull | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | †Nimravidae |
| Subfamily: | †Nimravinae |
| Genus: | †Nimravus Cope, 1879 |
| Type species | |
| †Nimravus brachyops Cope, 1879 | |
| Other species | |
| |
Description
Nimravus was around 1.2 metres (4 ft) in body length. With its sleek body, it may have resembled the modern caracal, although it had a longer back and more dog-like feet with partially retractile claws. It probably hunted birds and small mammals, ambushing them like modern cats, rather than chasing them down. Nimravus competed with other false sabre-tooths such as Hoplophoneus.[2]
Palaeobiology
Locomotion
Nimravus brachyops possessed an exceptionally high ankle gear ratio, which indicates that its foot extension performance emphasised speed over strength and would have made it capable of running at considerable velocities.[3]
Palaeopathology
A Nimravus skull, found in North America, had been pierced in the forehead region, the hole exactly matching the dimensions of the sabre-like canine of Eusmilus. This particular individual of Nimravus apparently survived this encounter, as the wound showed signs of healing. Another Nimravus fossil from Nebraska was described in 1959 by paleontologist Loren Toohey, and comprises a Nimravus skull with saber-teeth embedded into the humerus of another Nimravus, indicating a fatal incidence of intraspecific combat.[4]
