Nimravus
Extinct genus of carnivores
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, 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.
01Description
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.
02Palaeobiology
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.
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.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Nimravus”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Nimravus gomphodus.jpg by Edward Drinker Cope, Public domain
- Nimravus with canine tooth piercing another bone.jpg by James St. John, CC BY 2.0
- Turtle Cove mural - Roger Witter.jpg by Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington, Public domain
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.