Barbourofelis

[GuateGojira]

Barbourofelis fricki was the largest of this predator family that evolved with forms similar to modern cats, however I do not believe that this "giant" was even near the 300 kg. Check this old comparison that I made, based in the information and books of Turner and Anton:

*This image is copyright of its original author

As we can see, B. fricki was slightly smaller than modern Bengal-Amur tigers, and by extension, smaller than Smilodon fatalis, which probably weighed up to 280 kg. The bones of B. fricki are not as robust as S. fatalis, so definitely was a smaller animal, although with an impressive head, by any standard.

Interestingly, according with the old program "Paleoworld" from Discovery Channel (when Discovery was a REAL source of information...), this cat-like predator have a brain that was of the same size than the brain of an ocelot!

Here is an old representation from that particular tv show, the "Dawn of the cats":

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

Here is the image of the B. fricki skull, the ocelot skull and the brain cast of both specimens, check the similar size:

*This image is copyright of its original author

Ohhhhh, I miss the old days! Reply