According to Live Science , these cats roamed Africa 5.2 million years ago, belonging to the “saber-toothed cat” group.
The discovery is said to have changed what scientists know about this extinct group of cats, as well as shedding light on the environmental changes that occurred, indirectly revealing why Human fairies began to learn to walk on two legs.
Giant skull of saber-toothed cat – Photo: iScience
The fossilized remains of four extinct cat species have been found in a paleontological treasure trove near the town of Langebaanweg on South Africa’s west coast.
These include two known ancient cat species, Adeilosmilus kabir and Yoshi obscura, along with two new species, recently named Dinofelis werdelini and Lokotunjailurus chimsamyae.
All four species belong to the subfamily Machairodontinae, an extinct group of carnivorous cats. The name Machairodontinae means “dagger tooth”, a perfectly accurate description of their appearance.
Graphic image reconstructing the appearance of a saber-toothed cat, looking like a large leopard with more terrible teeth – Photo: Shutterstock
As the name suggests, the remains of monster cats include giant skulls with strong teeth, the most terrifying of which are long, sharp teeth, just like the saber-toothed tigers of the ice age often described. depicted in movies.
Writing in an article published July 20 in the journal iScience , scientists said the discovery of Dinofelis werdelini was not surprising because species close to it had been previously identified in Europe, North America and Central China. Quoc.
However, Lokotunjailurus chimsamyae is shocking because it has unique characteristics, only close to a few species of the same genus in Kenya and Chad.
These findings also show that saber-toothed cats may have a much wider range than previously thought, occupying very different “ecological niches” to coexist in this area at the same time.
Lokotunjailurus chimsamyae and Adeilosmilus kabir can run extremely fast, taking over grasslands, while the other two species are smaller and more agile, suitable for forests.
Maybe it was the climate change that turned Africa at that time from a giant forest into open grassland that caused this group of monster cats to evolve into diversity, and possibly many other species.
This factor of environmental change combined with adaptation in a world full of monsters of all shapes and sizes may have been important hormones for human evolution.
5 million years ago was the point when hominids began to learn to walk on two legs. Through millions of years of evolution, by more than 2 million years ago, humanity had the first completely upright species like today, Homo erectus, or “Upright Man”.
