| Promegantereon | |
|---|---|
._Walking_with_sabertooths_(fig._7).png) | |
| Restoration byMauricio Antón | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | †Machairodontinae |
| Tribe: | †Smilodontini |
| Genus: | †Promegantereon Kretzoi, 1938 |
| Type species | |
| Promegantereon ogygia (Kaup, 1832) | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Promegantereon is anextinctgenus ofmachairodont from theMiocene ofEurope. It is one of the oldest machairodont cat species in theSmilodontini and is believed to be an ancestor ofMegantereon andSmilodon.[1]
The speciesFelis ogygia was first described by Kaup in 1832. In 1938, Kretzoi proposed moving it to the new genusPromegantereon.[2]
Promegantereon is one of the oldest known truesaber-toothed cats. Itsfossils were discovered inCerro de los Batallones, a Late Miocene fossil site nearMadrid,Spain. However, it was only known from skull fragments from Eppelsheim until the early 1990s when the Cerro de los Battlones fossil beds were discovered. The animal was about 58 centimetres (23 in) high at the shoulder, similar to aleopard in size, but with a more supple body. The shape of its limbs suggests that it may have been an agile,scansorial climber, and could have hunted relatively large prey thanks to its elongate, flattened upper canines.[3] In appearance it was highly similar to the contemporaryParamachairodus, so much so, they were and are often considered to be the same genus. However, due to its more primitive morphology as evidenced by Salesaet al. in 2002 with an in-depth description of its anatomy,Promegantereon ogygia is believed to be its own genus and species and therefore should remain separate fromParamachairodus.[4]
Promegantereon seemed to prefer open woodland habitat, as evidenced by finds atCerro de los Batallones, which is a fossil deposit ofVallesian age. As a predator at Batallones, it would have hunted many of the relatively large herbivores of the time as well as the young of much larger animals. Such herbivores that it could hunt would have included horses likeHipparion, young of the hornless rhinocerosAceratherium and theproboscideanTetralophodon, the suidMicrostonyx, and possibly the calves of silvatherid giraffes and boselaphine antelopes.Promegantereon would have competed for such prey with theamphicyonidMagericyon, fellow machairodontsMachairodus andParamachairodus, the bearIndarctos, and the smallhyenidProtictitherium. While the much largerIndarctos,Machairodus andMagericyon would likely have been strongly competitive with for food and would likely have driven it from its kills when they sensed an opportunity,Paramachairodus andProtictitherium meanwhile, likely were less dangerous rivals that could be driven away or fought off.[4]
The specimens ofPromegantereon at Batallones indicate that high percentages of canine breaks were present in this species. This indicates that they hunted in a similar manner to modern cats, a method of hunting that was much riskier due to the lack of protruding incisors.[4]
| Homotherini |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Metailurini | ||
| Smilodontini | ||
| Incertae sedis: | ||
