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| Werdelin, L.; Lewis, M.E. | |
| A revision of the genus Dinofelis (Mammalia, Felidae) | |
| 2001 Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society (132): 147-258 | |
This paper consists of a taxonomic and systematic revision of the extinct felid genus _Dinofelis_ (Felidae, Ma-chairodontinae) and an analysis of its ecomorphology and evolution. _Dinofelis_ has a broad distribution, with material from all northern continents and Africa, the latter of which was the apparent centre of evolution of the genus. We describe new material of _Dinofelis_ from a number of sites in eastern Africa and reconsider all previously described material. We name two new species and identify several other distinct species-level taxa but refrain from naming these due to a paucity of well-preserved material. At the same time, we synonymize the two named Asian species, _D. cristata_ and _D. abeli_, of which the former has priority. There are few characters useful in systematic analysis, but we can suggest at least one migration from eastern to southern Africa. Ecomorphological analysis of both craniodental and postcranial characters suggests that _Dinofelis_ in many respects converged on modern pantherine cats in morphology and behaviour, a trend culminating in the South African _D. barlowi_ and the Asian _D. cristata_, which are the most pantherine-like of all machairodont felids. This trend is reversed in the evolution of the youngest species, _D. piveteaui_, which is also the most machairodont in its ecomorphology. The timing of the extinction of _Dinofelis_ is difficult to determine. Outside Africa material is scarce at all times, while in Africa the apparent extinction of _Dinofelis_ at about 1.4 Mya coincides with the end of the good, semi-continuous fossil record present in eastern Africa from about 4 Mya onwards. Dating of Kanam East (with _D. piveteaui_) to the Jaramillo Subchron (1.070-0.990 Mya) suggests possible survival considerably later. Thus, the extinction datum for _Dinofelis_ cannot at present be firmly established. |
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