Thylacosmilus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Thylacosmilus Temporal range: Miocene - Pliocene |
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| Thylacosmilus atrox | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Metatheria |
| Order: | Sparassodonta |
| Family: | Thylacosmilidae |
| Genus: | Thylacosmilus Riggs, 1933 |
| Species | |
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T. atrox |
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Thylacosmilus is a extinct genus of carnivorous marsupials found as fossils in deposits dated from about 10 million to 3 million years ago (late Miocene to late Pliocene Epoch) in South America. Thylacosmilus was sabre-toothed and was about as large as a modern jaguar. To a remarkable degree, Thylacosmilus paralleled the evolution of sabre-toothed cats. Its canine teeth were long and powerfully developed; they were used for stabbing prey and fit into a well-developed flange, or projecting edge, in the chin region of the lower jaw.
