Hoplophoneus

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Hoplophoneus
Fossil range: Early Eocene - Late Oligocene

Hoplophoneus mentalis

Fossil

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Nimravidae
Genus:	Hoplophoneus Cope, 1874

Species

H. dakotensis
H. kurteni
H. mentalis
H. occidentalis
H. primaevus
H. sicarius

Hoplophoneus is an extinct genus of mammal that is often referred to as a saber-toothed cat. Hoplophoneus was a member of the family Nimravidae, which originating roughly 55 million years ago. Hoplophoneus was similar to cats in outward appearance but the Nimravidae were not true cats. Bone structure was different in the small bones of the inner ear. True cats housed an external structure called an auditory bulla separated by a septum with two chambers. Nimravid remains showed no trace of this auditory bulla. Nimravidae had partially cartilaginous bulla and the presence of an ossified bulla with no septum. They also had a flange on the front of the mandible that projected downward as long as the canine tooth.

Hoplophoneus.

Hoplophoneus was structured like the true cat Smilodon including the saber-like teeth but was about the size of a small leopard. It had a robust body with shorter legs.