PrehistoricFlorida Posted June 18, 2010 Share Posted June 18, 2010 Cat fossils are among my favorite Florida fossils. I'd like to see some fossils from these premier feline predators in this thread. I know some of you have them... Harry? Cris? Don? Let's see 'em!! I'll start off with this Smilodon fatalis phalanx. This bone is a personal find from a few years ago, unfortunately the rest of the animal was not anywhere nearby. www.PrehistoricFlorida.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossil fury Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 I don't have any but would like to. “There are no easy answers' but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.” -Ronald Reagan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cris Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 Here's a partial smilodon upper canine. Not the nicest fossil, but maybe it'll help us get started in this thread. -Cris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Menser Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 I don't have any from Florida, but here's some... Be true to the reality you create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cris Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 I'm surprised this thread didn't get more posts and responses. Here's a personal find from fairly recently Scimitar-tooth cat (Homotherini) tooth...No idea as to which genus or species. The site it was found in was thought to be Pliocene which would make it Xenosmilus, but it doesn't match up...Currently, I'm thinking Homotherium. Notice the serrations - normal sabercat teeth don't have them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 I'm surprised this thread didn't get more posts and responses. Here's a personal find from fairly recently Scimitar-tooth cat (Homotherini) tooth...No idea as to which genus or species. The site it was found in was thought to be Pliocene which would make it Xenosmilus, but it doesn't match up...Currently, I'm thinking Homotherium. Notice the serrations - normal sabercat teeth don't have them. If the site is a Pliocene one, another possibility is Megantereon though I don't know if it had serrated premolars. Another Pliocene cat documented from Nebraska (Broadwater site) but not Florida is Ischyrosmilus (might have a different name now). Cat stuff is rare so relatively few people have any specimens. Some people might have bones of cats in their collections and not know it. Prehistoric Florida's cat toe bone is a classic for the family because it is the second phalanx, the bone that allows cats to retract their claws to help keep them sharp. The claw grows from the third phalanx. The second phalanx has an asymmetrical distal end that allows for the third to rest back at an angle that would be very painful for us. The third stays partly alongside the second until the cat chooses to extend its toes, hammering its claws downward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrehistoricFlorida Posted June 21, 2010 Author Share Posted June 21, 2010 If the site is a Pliocene one, another possibility is Megantereon though I don't know if it had serrated premolars. Another Pliocene cat documented from Nebraska (Broadwater site) but not Florida is Ischyrosmilus (might have a different name now). Cat stuff is rare so relatively few people have any specimens. Some people might have bones of cats in their collections and not know it. Prehistoric Florida's cat toe bone is a classic for the family because it is the second phalanx, the bone that allows cats to retract their claws to help keep them sharp. The claw grows from the third phalanx. The second phalanx has an asymmetrical distal end that allows for the third to rest back at an angle that would be very painful for us. The third stays partly alongside the second until the cat chooses to extend its toes, hammering its claws downward. Very good information. There are also several Pliocene cats represented in Texas, that are not yet represented in Florida, they may be options for that tooth. Attachment: jaguar mandible, Panthera onca, Pleistocene, Florida. www.PrehistoricFlorida.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 Cat fossils are among my favorite Florida fossils. I'd like to see some fossils from these premier feline predators in this thread. I know some of you have them... Harry? Cris? Don? Let's see 'em!! I'll start off with this Smilodon fatalis phalanx. This bone is a personal find from a few years ago, unfortunately the rest of the animal was not anywhere nearby. Nice phalanx, Nate! Here's a jaguar for comparison: http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrehistoricFlorida Posted July 1, 2010 Author Share Posted July 1, 2010 Here's a recent find. Bobcat, Lynx rufus. www.PrehistoricFlorida.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cris Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 I'm surprised this thread didn't get more posts and responses. Here's a personal find from fairly recently Scimitar-tooth cat (Homotherini) tooth...No idea as to which genus or species. The site it was found in was thought to be Pliocene which would make it Xenosmilus, but it doesn't match up...Currently, I'm thinking Homotherium. Notice the serrations - normal sabercat teeth don't have them. I got an identification from the FLMNH on this tooth. They took it to the collections area and said it is Xenosmilus, just slightly smaller than the specimens they have. Perhaps out of sexual dimorphism or maybe the few million year difference this tooth has against the ones they have. -Cris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edd Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 That is amazing...haha " We're all puppets, I'm just a puppet who can see the strings. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 I got an identification from the FLMNH on this tooth. They took it to the collections area and said it is Xenosmilus, just slightly smaller than the specimens they have. Perhaps out of sexual dimorphism or maybe the few million year difference this tooth has against the ones they have. -Cris That is a great find, 'Cris' -- that is a very rare beast! http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BOHUNTER Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 (edited) Ive got a broken bone knuckle I need to post. The Knuckles are offset, has 3 one is higher or offset from the other two.. BRB.. Ill get it out of the water! STEVE I do not know why the first image is the way it is, I edited it in Photoshop, rotated, cropped and everything... its all jacked up and big. In photobucket its the edited version?? I saved because I thought it might be cat. Edited July 19, 2010 by BOHUNTER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BOHUNTER Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 (edited) All of the cat skulls show different teeth angles. Different species? Id be freaked out to pull one of those from the clay! Holy Snap... Id sucks a LP Steel 108 dry quick! LOL WOW! Ive heard cats are rare to find. Solitary? Around water holes, sinks, springs, you find large and small mammals, come in to drink, killed or die in the hole. Did the cats stay outside awaiting the animals to leave or what? Hmmm Curious to see why not many are found. Other predators found around these places..... Nate you got some cool deep dark spots and ya need a hand to hold Ill come! Steve Edited July 19, 2010 by BOHUNTER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 That is the distal end of a tarsometatarsus of a large bird. Ive got a broken bone knuckle I need to post. The Knuckles are offset, has 3 one is higher or offset from the other two.. BRB.. Ill get it out of the water! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 Modern mammal apex predators are generally much rarer than their prey. This is also seen in the fossil record except at sites where predators were attracted to natural traps like the tar pits in California. Ive heard cats are rare to find. Solitary? Around water holes, sinks, springs, you find large and small mammals, come in to drink, killed or die in the hole. Did the cats stay outside awaiting the animals to leave or what? Hmmm Curious to see why not many are found. Other predators found around these places..... Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BOHUNTER Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 WOW that was a big dang bird! LOL I looked it up, thanks you educated me today! Sorry to post on the feline and not in Fossil ID, didnt realize it till afterwards... Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 ...I saved because I thought it might be cat. Distal end of an avian tarsometatarsus; big one, too. My best guess is Wood Stork. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 (edited) Inspired by Cris's Jaguar canine, I found this thread in a search and would like to bump this to see what else is out there. Edited January 5, 2012 by 32fordboy www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrehistoricFlorida Posted January 6, 2012 Author Share Posted January 6, 2012 Here are a few cat fossils from my collection: In this picture are two bobcat mandibles, one is adult, one is juvenile. In this picture is a juvenile panther mandible with a juvenile tooth and the adult teeth just coming in. This is a matched pair of bobcat mandibles. Three jaguar mandibles. 1 www.PrehistoricFlorida.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squalicorax Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Modern Lynx Jaw from Gainesville My Flickr Page of My Collection: http://www.flickr.com/photos/79424101@N00/sets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt. Nemo Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Megantereon molars from China (Pliocene): http://tempsjadis.kazeo.com/pliocene/molaires-superieures-de-tigre-a-dent-de-sabre-megantereon,a3085979.html Collection & Exchanges Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 (edited) Bump. Anything new out there these days? Not sure if these are posted yet, but here is a Leopard canine from Thailand (sold it, unfortunately) and a Hoplophoneus skull (thechnically not a feline, but a nimravid). Nick Edited December 3, 2012 by 32fordboy www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now