Stenailurus
Extinct genus of carnivores
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Stenailurus is an extinct genus of metailurin machairodontine (saber-toothed) cat from the Late Miocene (the Turolian, specifically) of Spain. It contains a single species, Stenailurus teilhardi . It was described based on a piece of maxilla in 1972.[1]
| Stenailurus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | †Machairodontinae |
| Tribe: | †Metailurini |
| Genus: | †Stenailurus Crusafont-Pairo & Aguirre, 1972 |
| Type species | |
| Stenailurus teilhardi Crusafont-Pairo & Aguirre, 1972 | |
Discovery and naming
The generic name Stenailurus honors Bl. Niels Steensen, considered the father of paleontology, combined with the Greek αἴλουρος/ailurus meaning "cat". The specific name teilhardi honors paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.[1]
Description
Stenailurus shows basal features of machairodonts such as the presence of a P2 tooth.[1]
In 2014, a study describing the genus Yoshi compares the morphology of teeth from multiple metailurines. Among these, the measurements of the canine teeth of Stenailurus were recorded as having a length of 44.4 mm and a mesiodistal diameter of 17 mm. This is mentioned to be comparable to the genera Fortunictis acerensis and Metailurus major.[2]
Classification
Position of Stenailurus in Metailurini according to a 2018 phylogenetic analysis:[3]
| Metailurini |
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