Dinofelis paleoonca

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Classis: Mammalia
Subclassis: Theria
Infraclassis: Placentalia
Ordo: Carnivora
Subordo: Feliformia
Familia: Felidae
Subfamilia: †Machairodontinae
Tribus: Metailurini
Genus: Dinofelis
Species: D. paleoonca

Dinofelis paleoonca ("terrible cat") is a species of saber-toothed cats belonging to the tribe Metailurini of the family Felidae endemic to North America during the Pliocene living from 4.9—1.8 mya, existing for approximately 3.1 million years.[1]

Taxonomy

Dinofelis paleoonca was named by Meade (1945).[2] Its type locality is Meade's Quarry 11, which is in a Blancan terrestrial horizon in the Blanco Formation of Texas. It was recombined as Dinofelis palaeoonca by Kurten (1972), Hemmer (1973), Dalquest (1975), Kurten and Anderson (1980), Schultz (1990) and Werdelin and Lewis (2001).[3]
Morphology
Body mass

Two specimens were examined by Legendre and Roth for body mass The first specimen was estimated to have a weight of 31.4 kg (69 lb). The second was estimated to have a weight of 87.8 kg (190 lb).[4]
Fossil distribution

Three specimens were found in Texas and Washington.
References

^ PaleoBiology Database: Dinofelis paleoonca, basic info
^ G. E. Meade. 1945. University of Texas Publication 4401:509-556
^ L. Werdelin and M. E. Lewis. 2001. A revision of the genus Dinofelis (Mammalia: Felidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 132(2):147-258
^ S. Legendre and C. Roth. 1988. Correlation of carnassial tooth size and body weight in recent carnivores (Mammalia). Historical Biology 1(1):85-98