Hoplophoneus

Skeleton of Hoplophoneus

• North America
• Krabi Basin, Thailand

Hoplophoneus is an extinct genus of large, feline predators, which belonged to the family of Nimravidae. Hoplophoneus existed in the late Eocene and Oligocene. Fossils are known mainly from North America, but were also described from Asia. The robber was very reminiscent in appearance to the later saber-toothed cats, but was not closely related with this.

Features

The Body of Hoplophoneus strongly resembled the cat, which appeared much later. The body was very muscular, what the robust bone structure shows. The upper canines were greatly elongated, similar to the later saber-toothed cats in the narrower sense ( Machairodontinae ). A flange on the lower jaw protected each of the two saber teeth. The limbs were relatively short, the spine, and allow the body to be stretched compared to cats very long. This Hoplophoneus was overall quite low, but built long and bulky. Hoplophoneus mentalis about only had a shoulder height of about 50 cm, but overall was certainly larger than a leopard.

Types and distribution

One of the earliest types was Hoplophoneus mentalis from the late Eocene of North America. This type was larger than a leopard and had already greatly prolonged upper canines. This was also the case for another great way Hoplophoneus sciarius. In the relatively small, about leopard large type Hoplophoneus occidentalis the upper canines were against extended only moderate. Fossils of Hoplophoneus are also known from the late Eocene of Thailand.