Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Cladus: Synapsida
Cladus: Eupelycosauria
Cladus: Sphenacodontia
Cladus: Sphenacodontoidea
Cladus: Therapsida
Cladus: Theriodontia
Cladus: Cynodontia
Cladus: Eucynodontia
Cladus: Probainognathia
Cladus: Prozostrodontia
Cladus: Mammaliaformes
Classis: Mammalia
Subclassis: Trechnotheria
Infraclassis: Zatheria
Supercohors: Theria
Cohors: Eutheria
Infraclassis: Placentalia
Cladus: Boreoeutheria
Superordo: Laurasiatheria
Cladus: Scrotifera
Cladus: Ferungulata
Cladus: Ferae
Cladus: Pancarnivora
Cladus: Carnivoramorpha
Cladus: Carnivoraformes
Ordo: Carnivora
Subordo: Feliformia
Familia: Felidae
Subfamilia: †Machairodontinae
Tribus: †Metailurini
Genus: †Metailurus
Species: †M. hengduanshanensis – †M. major – †M. mongoliensis – †M. obscurus – †M. ultimus
Species incerti generis: †M. kansensis [=†Adelphailurus kansensis] – †M. minor [=†Yoshi minor] – †M. teilhardi [=†Stenailurus teilhardi]
Species inquirendae: †M. boodon – †M. parvulus
Name
Metailurus Zdansky, 1924
Type species: Metailurus major Zdansky, 1924
References
Primary references
Zdansky, O. 1924. Jungtertiäre Carnivoren Chinas. Palaeontologia Sinica, Series C 2(1): 1–149. Reference page.
Additional references
Andersson, K. & Werdelin, L. 2005. Carnivora from the late Miocene of Lantian, China. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 43: 256–271. PDF Reference page.
Werdelin, L., Yamaguchi, N., Johnson, W.E. & O'Brien, S.J. 2010. Phylogeny and evolution of cats (Felidae). Pp. 59–82. In Macdonald, D.W. & Loveridge, A.J. (eds) Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-923445-5. ResearchGate Reference page.
Christiansen, P. 2013. Phylogeny of the sabertoothed felids (Carnivora: Felidae: Machairodontinae). Cladistics 29(5): 543–559. DOI: 10.1111/cla.12008 Open access Reference page.
Li, Y. 2014. Restudy of Metailurus major from Yushe Basin, Shanxi Province reported by Teilhard de Chardin and Leroy [对德日进和罗学宾所研究的山西榆社大后猫化石的再研究]. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 52(4): 467–485. ResearchGate Reference page.
Spassov, N. & Geraads, D. 2015. A new felid from the Late Miocene of the Balkans and the contents of the genus Metailurus Zdansky, 1924 (Carnivora, Felidae). Journal of Mammalian Evolution 22(1): 45–56. DOI: 10.1007/s10914-014-9266-5 ResearchGate Reference page.
Links
Metailurus – Taxon details on Fossilworks.
Metailurus is a genus of saber-toothed cat in the family Felidae, and belonging to the tribe Metailurini, which occurred in North America, Eurasia and Africa from the Miocene to the Middle Pleistocene.[1][2][3]
History and taxonomy
The genus Metailurus was described by Zdansky in 1924 for the two species Metailurus major and Metailurus minor.[4]
Metailurus mongoliensis was described in 1939.[5]
Metailurus boodon was described in 1948.[6]
Metailurus hengduanshanensis was described in 1996.[7]
Metailurus ultimus was described in 2014.[8]
Metailurus minor was reassigned to the felid genus Yoshi in 2015.[9]
Description
The canines of Metailurus are longer than those of even the clouded leopard, but significantly shorter than true saber teeth, and more conical than bladed.[10] A partial skeleton found in the Turolian site of Kerassia 1 consists of the jawbone, the anterior and posterior limb bone elements, and some sternal bones and some vertebrae. This is the most complete known of the species. Its dental material is comparative to those specimens from Pikermi, Chomateri, and China. The presence of elongated posterior limbs indicate that it had developed jumping skills.[11]
References
McKenna, M. C.; Bell, S. K. (1997). Classification of Mammals: Above the Species Level. Columbia University Press. p. 631. ISBN 978-0-231-11013-6.
"Fossilworks: Metailurus". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
Antón, Mauricio (2013-11-22). Sabertooth. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253010490.
Zdansky, O. (1924). "Jungtertiare Carnivoren Chinas". Palaeontologia Sinica, Series C. 2 (1): 1–149.
Colbert, E. H. (1939). "Carnivora of the Tung Gur Formation of Mongolia". Bull Am Mus Nat Hist. 76: 47−81.
Belyaeva, E. I. (1948). "Catalogue of Tertiary Fossil Sites of the Land Mammals in the U.S.S.R. Tr. Paleontol. Inst". An SSSR. 15 (3): 1–116.
Zong G. F.; Chen W. Y.; Huang X. S. (1996). "Cenozoic Mammals and Environment of Hengduan Mountains Region". Beijing: China Ocean Press: 55−57. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Yu Li (2014). "Restudy of Metailurus major from Yushe Basin, Shanxi Province reported by Teilhard de Chardin and Leroy". Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 52 (4): 467–485.
Spassov, Nikolai; Geraads, Denis (2015). "A New Felid from the Late Miocene of the Balkans and the Contents of the Genus Metailurus Zdansky, 1924 (Carnivora, Felidae)". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 22 (1): 45–56. doi:10.1007/s10914-014-9266-5. S2CID 254704902.
Turner, Alan; Antón, Mauricio (1997). The Big Cats and their fossil relatives. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-10228-3.
Roussiakis, Socrates J.; Theodorou, George E.; Iliopoulos, George (2006). "An almost complete skeleton of Metailurus parvulus (Carnivora, Felidae) from the late Miocene of Kerassia (Northern Euboea, Greece)". Geobios. 39 (4): 563–584. doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2005.04.002.
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