First small-sized Dinofelis: Evidence from the Plio-Pleistocene of North Africa

• We describe small-sized specimens of the metailurine felid Dinofelis from a new Plio-Pleistocene site in North Africa. Dinofelis is a genus of saber-toothed cats mainly recorded from East and South Africa with numerous leopard to jaguar-sized species. The described specimens, clearly smaller than all the other African Dinofelis, resemble isolated remains from the Late Pliocene of France and the Early Pleistocene of Africa. Present evidence suggests that our form represents a new species and/or new lineage of Dinofelis, smaller and probably occupying a different ecological niche compared to the previously known members of the genus, and thus it adds complexity to the high intraspecific competition among large carnivorans in the Plio-Pleistocene of Africa.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Annan geovetenskap och miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Other Earth and Related Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Geology

Archaeology

Archaeology

Ecology

Evolution

Behavior and Systematics

Global and Planetary Change

North Africa

Morocco

Plio-Pleistocene

Carnivora

Felidae

Machairodontinae

Dinofelis

Diversity of life

Livets mångfald

The changing Earth

Den föränderliga jorden

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)