Dinaelurus

Dinaelurus is a genus of the Nimravidae, an extinct family of feliform mammalian carnivores, also known as "false saber-toothed cats". Assigned to the subfamily Nimravinae, Dinaelurus was endemic to North America during the Oligocene epoch (32.6—27.2 mya), existing for approximately 5.4 million years.^{[1] Including supplementary materials}

Dinaelurus Temporal range: Early to Late Oligocene (Rupelian to Chattian), 32.6–27.2 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Holotype skull
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	†Nimravidae
Subfamily:	†Nimravinae
Genus:	†Dinaelurus Eaton, 1922
Species:	†D. crassus
Binomial name
†Dinaelurus crassus Eaton, 1922

Taxonomy

Dinaelurus was named by George Francis Eaton in 1922, with a single species, Dinaelurus crassus. It was assigned to Nimravinae by Flynn and Galiano in 1982.^[2][3] One specimen was found in the John Day Formation in Oregon.

Description

Dinaelurus had a skull extremely broad for its length and had conical teeth; it exhibited little or no development of sabertooth features and had more rounded cheek teeth with no serrated ridges. It had a relatively gracile skeleton^[4] and may have had digitigrade feet.^[5] It is believed that Dinaelurus was a cursorial predator that ran down its prey. This is suggested by the nimravid's short face^[4] and large nostrils, similar to those of a cheetah, which is also a cursorial predator.^[5]