A sabre-tooth felid from Coopers Cave (Gauteng, South Africa) and its implications for Megantereon (Felidae: Machairodontinae) taxonomy
Date
2007
Authors
Hartstone-Rose, Adam
De Ruiter, Darryl J.
Berger, Lee R.
Churchill, Steven E.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BERNARD PRICE INSTITUTE FOR PALAEONTOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Abstract
Metrical and morphological analysis of a new sabre-tooth felid mandible recovered from the Plio-Pleistocene hominid-bearing site of
Coopers, South Africa, indicates that it can be assigned to the genus Megantereon, though it is by some measures the smallest individual
of this taxon yet described. Comparison of morphological variability within this genus to that found within four extant, medium-sized
felid species (Acinonyx jubatus, Neofelis nebulosa, Panthera pardus and P. uncia) and the extinct genus Smilodon (sister taxon of Megantereon)
provides confirmation of the suggestion by Martínez-Navarro&Palmqvist (1995, 1996) that Megantereon is a geographically polymorphic
genus comprised of at least two species: M. cultridens (Cuvier, 1824) of North America and Europe and M. whitei (Broom, 1937) of Africa
and Europe.