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Pleistocene Big Cats
Freak Felids - A Discussion of History's Largest Felines
Freak Felids - A Discussion of History's Largest Felines
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Freak Felids - A Discussion of History's Largest Felines
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His carnassials look very robust as well, and normally the smaller skulls won't have such robust feature.
His canine teeth should also be very large and robust, and all these features point toward a large skull, but it is a pity we can't have pic to measure it with a caliper.
@Fieryeel, here is the other Indonesian tiger fossils that I found online, and it looks just like yours.
If your teeth are a real piece of fossil, then it should undoubtedly belong to the prehistoric giant tiger. https://www.tokopedia.com/makrifatbusiness/taring-macan-fosil-tulang-purba-01  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
 (09-29-2015, 10:25 AM)GrizzlyClaws Wrote: @Fieryeel, here is the other Indonesian tiger fossils that I found online, and it looks just like yours. Woah how did you even find these. You are a skilled investigator indeed man. Thank you.
Just Google "fosil Macan" on the Indonesian part, then it will give a bunch of relevant images.
Saw this skull in my friend's place. It's slightly bigger than a modern tiger cast.
 *This image is copyright of its original author
It looks like a Machairodus giganteus skull, great image.
Did you know its size?
It is a Machairodus, and consider its fossilization level, it must be very old.
"This 5 million year old specimen of a Machairodus giganteus skull from Asia is 16″ long, 9″ high, and 10″ wide, with its canines measuring 4.5″ top to bottom. The skull is 98% inflated with very slight distortion."
What my friend mentioned. 
A Machairodus giganteus canine from China, about 7 inches long.
 *This image is copyright of its original author
Here is the article where that skull is shown
https://fossilcollector.wordpress.com/20...chairodus/ Largest true Sabertooth Cat ever Posted on July 14, 2013 by chuyeeming Perhaps one of the greatest predators that mankind ever had to come face-to-face against was the saber-toothed cat. Movies such as 10,000 B.C., Ice Age, The Croods, and even the Flintstones have popularised the Smilodon of the La Brea Tar Pits of 1.6 million to 10,000 years ago. North America’s Smilodon fatalis weighed in at 160 to 280 kg, had a shoulder height of up to 100 cm, and reached a body length of 175 cm. However, it was dwarfed by the machairodontine species, which lived in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America from 11.6mya—126,000 years ago, and existed for about 11.5 million years between the Miocene and the Pleistocene. For instance, a large Machairodus kabir found in the Taurus-Menella in Africa weighed 350kg and was 130 cm tall, comparable with the largest Cave Lions and American Lions. Largest true Sabertooth Cat ever Posted on July 14, 2013 by chuyeeming Perhaps one of the greatest predators that mankind ever had to come face-to-face against was the saber-toothed cat. Movies such as 10,000 B.C., Ice Age, The Croods, and even the Flintstones have popularised the Smilodon of the La Brea Tar Pits of 1.6 million to 10,000 years ago. North America’s Smilodon fatalis weighed in at 160 to 280 kg, had a shoulder height of up to 100 cm, and reached a body length of 175 cm. However, it was dwarfed by the machairodontine species, which lived in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America from 11.6mya—126,000 years ago, and existed for about 11.5 million years between the Miocene and the Pleistocene. For instance, a large Machairodus kabir found in the Taurus-Menella in Africa weighed 350kg and was 130 cm tall, comparable with the largest Cave Lions and American Lions. Machairodus giganteus, the largest known species known within the genus Machairodus, was a large lion-sized saber-toothed cat with elongated upper canines and cheek teeth efficiently adapted for slicing meat. The animal is known mostly from a variety of fragmentary fossils found through Europe and Asia, with the best-preserved skulls coming from China. Once believed to represent two separate species, one existing in Europe and the other in Asia, the fossils were later united by the Swiss paleontologist Gérard de Beaumont to represent a single species.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Machairodus was about 200 cm long and more muscular than a modern lion. Its powerful build and short legs suggests that it was an effective ambush predator. It was likely to have featured spots or stripes for concealment. M. Giganteus featured sexual dimorphism, with males much larger than females.The Machairodus skull is narrower than that of the modern pantherine big cats, with a longer muzzle, relatively small orbits, and a jaw that could open 120 degrees.  *This image is copyright of its original author Its maxillary canines were broad like the Homotherium, serrated on the front and back edges as they first grew and worn down in the first few years of life.  *This image is copyright of its original author They were more firmly rooted to its mouth, fit more easily in its mouth, were less fragile than other saber-toothed cats, and hung out less awkwardly. This suggested that they were likely used to slice open the throats of its prey rather than suffocate them. This ‘king-of-saber-tooths’ was possibly a pack hunter, the apex predator roaming the savannahs of Central Asia, such as the Hezheng County of Gansu Providence in China. These plains that resembled the Serengeti in Africa today. M. giganteous preyed on herds of gomphotheres, hippo-like rhinos, giraffids, and medium-sized fast-running antelope. It closest competitor was Dinocrocta, the giant hyena, which reached the size of a grizzly bear. Fossil specimens of M. giganteus are exceedingly rare, with many museums discovering only fragmentary specimens. This has resulted in high prices on the rare occasion that specimens are publicly-available. For instance, two years ago Bonhams auctioned another M. giganteus specimen from Asia for USD 116,500. This impressive 5 million year old specimen of a Machairodus giganteus skull from Asia is 16″ long, 9″ high, and 10″ wide, with its canines measuring 4.5″ top to bottom. The skull is 98% inflated with very slight distortion.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
The source seem to provide inaccurate, or at least unproven, information regarding Machairodus' built.
It states it was short legged and more robust than a lion. Fossil materials is scant, but using an M. kabir specimen as a example, this cat was likely long legged and not so robust. M. kabir's humeral length (functional) is c. 417 mm, and its humeral articular width 73 mm, a width/length ratio of 0.175. For lions, this ratio is around 0.19, or more robust.
Its teeth do look quite robust though, the morphology is obviously up for debate. But either way, what a impressive cat.
We most take care with those size estimations. Turner & Anton (1996) estimate the largest Machairodus specimen (all species) at about 120 cm in standing height, very large indeed but not the 130 cm that the article mention. In the document about Machairodus kabir there is no mention of any size estimation, so, where they get the 130 cm figure?
Other thing, the weight of 350 kg came from the use of the dentary formula of Van Valkenburg and the higher weight (450 kg, as far I remember) came from the formula of Anyonge. But results are debatable, specially for an animal with a skull smaller than the largest modern lions and tigers. They bones are longer, that is true, but as @tigerluver states, they are slender than that of modern lions. |
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