Machaeroides eothen

Machaeroides (Machaeroides eothen Matthew, 1909)

 

Order: Creodonta

Family: †Oxyaenidae

Temporal range: during the  Eocene (North America)

Dimensions: length - 1,2 m, height - 30 сm, weight - 10 - 12 kg

A typical representative: Machaeroides eothen

 

Machaeroides– saber-toothed predators not related to the cat family. Although they were like a very big cats in their size, they hunted prey of their size, because of specialization of saber-toothed in production of larger class than insects, small lizards and birds. Their teeth are served for deep penetration into the flesh. Machaeroides lived in the Early Eocene of North America in tropical rain forests. As a part of Machaeroidinae there are two genera – Machaeroides and Apataelurus. In turn, in the Machaeroideses genus there are two species: early Eocene small M. simpsoni and latter (the end of Early Eocene) M. eothen. The second types is larger and is known for finding a complete skull, femur, humerus, bones of the forearm and hand.
The length of Machaeroides from nose to tail base of over 60 cm at 30 cm in height. Probably, they had wide half-plantigrade extremities. Finds massive limb bones, as a small animal, assume strongly built and powerful predator.

predators, endemic, creodonta, carnivore, north america, machaeroides, oxyaenidae, eocene