Homotherium latidens. Illustration and photo-reconstruction of two Homotheria running in the woodland in search of food. Homotherium latidens is a gen


Homotherium latidens. Illustration and photo-reconstruction of two Homotheria running in the woodland in search of food. Homotherium latidens is a genus of sabre-toothed cats that lived in North America, Eurasia and Africa from the Middle Pliocene to the late Late Pleistocene. It reached metres at the shoulder and weighed an estimated 150-270 kilograms, about the size of a male African lion. Compared to some other machairodonts, like Smilodon or Megantereon, Homotherium had relatively short upper canines, but they were flat, serrated and longer than those of any living cat. It had the general appearance of a cat, but some of its physical characteristics are rather unusual for a large cat. The limb proportions of Homotherium gave it a hyena-like appearance. But given the fluctuation range of the size of modern large cats, it is highly probable that all belong to just one species, Homotherium latidens.


Size: 6496px × 4329px
Photo credit: © ROMAN UCHYTEL/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: animal, artwork, big, carnivore, carnivorous, cats, composite, extinct, fauna, homotherium, illustration, latidens, machairodonts, mammal, palaeontological, palaeontology, palaeozoological, palaeozoology, paleontological, paleontology, paleozoological, paleozoology, pleistocene, pliocene, predators, prehistoric, sabre-toothed, scimitar-toothed, wildlife