Dinofelis is an extinct genus of machairodontine (sabre-toothed cat), usually classified in the tribe Metailurini. It was widespread in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America from 5 million to about 1.2 million years ago (early Pliocene to early Pleistocene). Fossils very similar to Dinofelis from Lothagam range back to around 8 million years ago, in the Late Miocene.
Discovery and naming
The genus Dinofelis was originally named by Otto Zdansky in 1924 for the species Dinofelis abeli.
Dinofelis werdelini was a medium-sized machairodontine, about the size of a large jaguar, with robust upper canines and relatively small cheek teeth. It has commonly been recovered as belonging to the tribe Metailurini,
A number of species are currently accepted in the genus: It was recombined as Dinofelis palaeoonca by Kurten (1972), Hemmer (1973), Dalquest (1975), Kurten and Anderson (1980), Schultz (1990) and Werdelin and Lewis (2001).
- Dinofelis petteri: Known from the Pliocene of East Africa
- Dinofelis piveteaui: The latest known species of Dinofelis, lived in South Africa during the early Pleistocene. This species has the most pronounced sabertoothed adaptations of the genus.
- Dinofelis werdelini: Known from Langebaanweg in Africa, from the Pliocene.
Additional fossils from Lothagam (specifically the Nawata Formation and the Apak Member of the Nachukui Formation) are considered to represent another, unnamed species; one smaller and more primitive than other known species.
Paleobiology
thumb|left|[[Life restoration of Dinofelis and other Late Miocene African carnivorans]]
Morphometric analysis of Dinofelis specimens from Olduvai Gorge suggests that the felid was best suited for mixed habitats rather than open grasslands or closed woodlands.
Analysis of carbon isotope ratios in specimens from Swartkrans indicates that Dinofelis preferentially hunted grazing animals. The main predators of hominids in the environment at that time were most likely leopards and fellow machairodont Megantereon, whose carbon isotope ratios showed more indication of preying on hominids.
Several sites from South Africa seem to show Dinofelis may have hunted and killed Australopithecus africanus, since the finds mingle fossilized remains of Dinofelis, hominids, and other large contemporary animals. In South Africa, Dinofelis remains have been found near Paranthropus fossil skulls, a few with precisely spaced canine holes in their crania, so it is possible Dinofelis preyed on robust hominids as well. This may have been rare, however, as carbon isotope ratios contradict this.