Homotherium - The Ferocious Scimitar-toothed Predator from Pleistocene

Homotherium, the scimitar-toothed cat, was an ancient predator that roamed the lands of North America, South America, Eurasia, and Africa during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs, from around 4 million to 12,000 years ago. Unlike its famous cousin Smilodon, Homotherium had shorter canines, suggesting that it was adapted for running down its prey rather than ambushing it. Its unique teeth resembled the shape of a scimitar, a curved sword, hence its common name, the scimitar-toothed cat.

Homotherium 

Homothereium serum reconstruction by Sergiodlarosa via Wikimedia commons

Scientific classification
Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	Felidae
Subfamily:	Machairodontinae
Tribe:	Homotherini
Genus:	Homotherium Fabrini, 1890

Homotherium, the scimitar-toothed cat, was an ancient predator that roamed the lands of North America, South America, Eurasia, and Africa during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs, from around 4 million to 12,000 years ago. Unlike its famous cousin Smilodon, Homotherium had shorter canines, suggesting that it was adapted for running down its prey rather than ambushing it. Its unique teeth resembled the shape of a scimitar,

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Scimitar

A scimitar is a unique type of sword known for its curved blade. It's commonly linked to cultures from the Middle East, South Asia, and North Africa. The term "scimitar" refers to various Eastern curved swords that were introduced to the Middle East by Central Asian warriors. These swords include the Persian shamshir, Arab saif, Indian talwar, North African nimcha, and Turkish kilij. All these swords have roots in earlier curved swords developed in Turkic Central Asia.

The English word "scimitar" emerged in the 16th century and comes from either the Middle French "cimeterre" or the Italian "scimitarra," both of which are derived from the Persian word "shamshir." This term was used to describe all curved blades from the East, unlike the straight European swords of that time. In Arabic, the term "saif" can refer to any Middle Eastern, North African, or South Asian sword, whether straight or curved. The word "saif" has a connection to the ancient Greek term "xiphos," and both words may have originated from an old word of the eastern Mediterranean

hence its common name the scimitar-toothed cat.

Homotherium was a formidable predator, measuring around 1.1 meters (3 feet 7 inches) at the shoulder and weighing approximately 190 kilograms (420 pounds), similar in size to a male lion. Its upper canines were shorter than other machairodonts like Smilodon, but still longer than those of modern cats. The incisors and lower canines formed powerful puncturing and gripping devices, while the large canine teeth had a serrated edge. The shape of its jaws allowed Homotherium to clamp and hold prey while inflicting damage with its canines, similar to the modern lion. 

 

Unlike Smilodon, Homotherium likely had its large upper canines hidden by its upper lips and gum tissues when its mouth was closed, similar to extant cats. Its visual cortex was highly developed, indicating a heavy reliance on vision during hunting. Furthermore, their sloped back and powerful lumbar section of Homotherium's vertebrae suggest a bear-like build, indicating it may have been capable of pulling formidable loads.

Diet and Habitats

Artistic reconstruction of Homotherium consuming juvenile mammoth by Mauricio Antón

Genomic analysis

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Genomic Analysis

Genomic Analysis involves unraveling the complex language of DNA, a molecular script that holds the genetic instructions for all living organisms. This intricate code determines an organism's unique traits, from physical features like eye color and height to susceptibility to specific diseases.

Using advanced lab equipment and computational tools, scientists carefully decipher this DNA sequence, much like interpreting words on a page. By studying the genetic code, researchers can identify important sections linked to different traits and health conditions, revealing insights into the complexities of biology. This comprehensive understanding opens doors to medical advancements, innovative treatments, and a deeper grasp of the mechanisms governing life itself.

suggests that Homotherium was likely a social predator and well-adapted to life as a pursuit predator. It probably hunted in daylight and preferred higher latitudes and altitudes, indicating adaptation to colder conditions in the mammoth steppe environment. The species seems to have specialized in hunting young mammoths, dragging their kills into secluded caves to eat in relative peace. The excellent nocturnal vision of Homotherium allowed it to hunt effectively in arctic regions.African Homotheriums seem to have hunted early Pleistocene species of Deinotherium,

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Deinotherium

Deinotherium was an extinct genus of elephant-like proboscidean which roamed the Earth from the Middle Miocene to the Early Pleistocene. Unlike modern elephants, they had flexible necks, adapted limbs for running, and downward-curving tusks that emerged from their jaw. These creatures thrived across regions from East Africa to Europe, feeding on leaves. Over time, they disappeared as forests turned into open grasslands.

Researchers debate the number of Deinotherium species, but three - D. bozasi, D. giganteum, D. indicum - are commonly recognized. Adaptations suggest Deinotherium preferred open woodlands, feasting on leaves from the treetop canopy.

likely targeting vulnerable adolescents or calves in herds.

Fossil findings from the Friesenhahn Cave site in Texas provide valuable insights into the social behavior of Homotherium, as the remains of nearly 400 juvenile mammoths were discovered alongside numerous Homotherium skeletons of all ages. Unlike other machairodonts like Smilodon, injuries from struggling with prey, such as broken upper canines, are rarely observed in Homotherium fossils.

This suggests that Homotherium's social groups likely restrained prey before attempting to kill it with their fangs. Moreover, the bones of the young mammoths found in Friesenhahn Cave show distinctive marks matching the incisors of Homotherium, indicating that they could efficiently process most of the meat on a carcass and that the mammoths had been deposited in the caves by the cats themselves and not by scavengers. 

 

Examination of the bones also indicates that the carcasses of these juvenile mammoths were dismembered after being killed by the cats before being dragged away, suggesting that Homotherium would disarticulate their kill to transport it to a safe area such as a hidden lair or den and prevent competitors such as dire wolves and American lions from usurping the carcass.

Taxonomic History

Homotherium skull by Ghedoghedo via Wikimedia commons

The name Homotherium (Greek: ὁμός (homos, 'same') and θηρίον (therion, 'beast')) was proposed by Emilio Fabrini (1890) as a subgenus of Machairodus, distinguished by a large diastema between the two inferior premolars. The genus Dinobastis was initially named by Cope in 1893 but later synonymized with Homotherium. Various species of Homotherium were proposed based on size differences, but only Homotherium latidens is currently recognized in Eurasia during the Late Pliocene-Pleistocene. Other species are not considered distinct. In North America, specimens are assigned to H. ischyrus and H. serum based on age. Venezuelan specimens belong to H. venezuelensis. African remains are fragmentary and not assigned to a specific.

Phylogeny

Phylogenetic hypotheses for the family Felidae based on traditional phenetic classification, modified from Werdelin et al.

Homotherium diverged from the lineage of Smilodon approximately 18 million years ago. It was thought to have originated from African species of the genus Amphimachairodus. The earliest remains of Homotherium date back to around 4 million years ago, found in Ukraine and Kenya. The genus spread to North America during the late Pliocene. It eventually disappeared from Africa around 1.5 million years ago, during the Early Pleistocene.

Homotherium was previously believed to have gone extinct in Eurasia around 300,000 years ago, but a discovery of a jaw bone from the North Sea suggests a Late Pleistocene dispersal from North America. In North America, Homotherium met its end around 12,000 years ago, as part of the Quaternary extinction event. The extinction of Homotherium could be linked to the disappearance of large herbivorous mammals like mammoths at the end of the Pleistocene epoch.

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References

• Fabrice Lihoreau, Raphaël Sarr, Domininique Chardon, Jean-Renaud Boisserie, Renaud Lebrun, Sylvain Adnet, Jeremy E. Martin, Laurent Pallas, Bernard Sambou, Rodolphe Tabuce, Mohamadou M. Thiam, Lionel Hautier, A fossil terrestrial fauna from Tobène (Senegal) provides a unique early Pliocene window in western Africa, Gondwana Research, Volume 99, 2021, Pages 21-35, ISSN 1342-937X. Retrived on August 6, 2023, from
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2021.06.013.
 
• R. L. (1891). III.—Dr. E. Fabrini on Machærodus - Machærodus (Meganthereon) del Valdarno Superiore, Memoria del Dott. Emilio Fabrini (Boll. R. Com. Geol. 1890 Nos. 3–6, pp. 43, pls. 3.). Geological Magazine, 8(2), 82–82. Retrived on August 6, 2023, from
http://doi.org/10.1017/S0016756800185498.

• Ascanio D. Rincón, Francisco J. Prevosti & Gilberto E. Parra (2011) New saber-toothed cat records (Felidae: Machairodontinae) for the Pleistocene of Venezuela, and the Great American Biotic Interchange, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 31:2, 468-478.Retrived on August 6, 2023, from
https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2011.550366.

• Paijmans, Johanna L.A.; Barnett, Ross; Gilbert, M. Thomas P.; Zepeda-Mendoza, M. Lisandra; Reumer, Jelle W.F.; de Vos, John; Zazula, Grant; Nagel, Doris; Baryshnikov, Gennady F.; Leonard, Jennifer A.; Rohland, Nadin; Westbury, Michael V.; Barlow, Axel; Hofreiter, Michael (November 2017). "Evolutionary History of Saber-Toothed Cats Based on Ancient Mitogenomics". Current Biology. 27 (21): 3330–3336.e5.Retrived on August 6, 2023, from
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.09.033.

• M. Antón, M.J. Salesa, A. Galobart, Z.J. Tseng, The Plio-Pleistocene scimitar-toothed felid genus Homotherium Fabrini, 1890 (Machairodontinae, Homotherini): diversity, palaeogeography and taxonomic implications, Quaternary Science Reviews, Volume 96, 2014, Pages 259-268, ISSN 0277-3791. Retrived on August 6, 2023, from
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.11.022.