Megantereon was an ancient machairodontine saber-toothed cat that lived in North America, Eurasia, and Africa. It may be the ancestor of Smilodon.
A. Fossil range
Fossil fragments have been found in Africa, Eurasia, and North America. Megantereon seems to have first appeared in the early Late Miocene roughly 11.61—5.33 million years ago with fossil evidence of M. praecox recovered in Punjab, Pakistan. In North America, the oldest specimen was M. hesperus unearthed in Polk County, Florida, USA dating to 7.9—-7.8 Ma (AEO).
About 3-3.5 Million years ago it is firmly recorded also from Africa and Eurasia. At the end of the Pliocene it evolved into the larger Smilodon in North America, while it survived in the Old World until the middle Pleistocene. The youngest remains from east Africa are about 1.5 million years old. In southern Africa the genus is recorded from Elandsfontein, a site dated to around 700,000-400,000 years old. Remains from Untermaßfeld show that Megantereon lived until 900,000 years ago in Europe. In Asia it may have survived until 500,000 years ago, as it is recorded together with Homo erectus at the famous site of Zho-Khou-Dien in China. The only full skeleton was found in Senéze, France.B. Hunting technique
It is unlikely that Megantereon simply bit its prey as the long, sabre-teeth that Smilodon is famed for are not strong enough to leave buried inside a struggling prey animal: the teeth would break off. It is possible that they bit their prey and then allowed it to bleed to death, but then they would have to protect that animal from other predators and thus their tactic for killing remains uncertain. It is now generally thought that Megantereon, like other saber-toothed cats, used its long saber teeth to deliver a killing throat bite, severing most of the major nerves and blood vessels. While the teeth would still risk damage, the prey animal would be killed quickly enough that any struggles would be feeble at best
C. Species
The number of species is unclear, with some known from only fragmentary evidence. Some researchers have argued that three species should be distinguished: M. cultridens from North America, Asia (except the Indian subcontinent) and the European Pliocene, M. whitei from Africa and the European Lower Pleistocene and M. falconeri from India Therefore, the true number of species may be less than the full list of described species reproduced below
- Megantereon nihowanensis - probably a junior synonym of M cultridens
- Megantereon cultridens
- Megantereon whitei
- Megantereon gracile
- Megantereon eurynodon
- Megantereon megantereon
- Megantereon vakhshensis
- Megantereon ekidoit
- Megantereon falconeri
- Megantereon hesperus
- Megantereon spiryleris