Hoplophoneus primaevus 1850, 1856
A badly weathered skull of this sabertooth cat was discovered by Dr. Evans during a geological survey of the White River Badlands (Mauvaise Terres) in 1850 (2). Joseph Leidy first identified it as a new species of Machairodus, a sabertooth that had been found in Europe, Brazil and the Himalayas. Upon the recept and study of additional specimens, he concluded that this animal belonged to a new genus, so in 1856 he named it Drepanodon primaevus. Its name was changed to Hoplophoneus primaevus in 1874 by E. D. Cope.
Skull
of Holophoneus primaevus. This image is detail from a lithograph published
in The Extinct mammalina Fauna of Dakota and Nebraska (1869). Click
here or on the skull to view the full lithograph.Hoplophoneus primaevus was the most common sabertooth in the White River Badlands. It was 3.5 feet (1.1 m) long and had a relatively long body with short legs and neck. It belongs to a group of carnivores called nimravids. This group has traditionally been placed within the cat family (Felidae), but many scientist believe nimravids represent a separate evolutionary lineage.
The sabertooth adaptation has evolved several times within mammals. The most famous example is sabertooth cat, Smilodon, which is more closely related to the house cat than it is to Hoplophoneus. Perhaps the most unusual example, however is Thylacosmilus. This South American marsupial from the late Miocene and early Pliocene is more closely related to the opossum and kangaroo than it is to any cat.
Websites:
- U.C.
Museum of Paleontology's web page on sabertooth cats: www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/carnivora/sabretooth.html
Notes:
- Etymology:
Hoplophoneus (hop-low-PHONE-knee-us) = murderous weapon
primaevus (prih-May-vus) = early, young
Drepanodon (dre-PAN-oh-don) = seizing tooth
[go back] - Dr.
John Evans was sent to do a geologic survey of the White River Badlands by David
Dale Owens as part of Owen's geologic survey of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.
[go back]