Nimravidae

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Nimravidae

Evolution

← Previous revision Revision as of 02:47, 20 April 2026
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[[File:Dinictis_and_Protoceras.jpg|thumb|Restoration of ''[[Dinictis]]'' and ''[[Protoceras]]'' by [[Charles R. Knight]]]]
[[File:Dinictis_and_Protoceras.jpg|thumb|Restoration of ''[[Dinictis]]'' and ''[[Protoceras]]'' by [[Charles R. Knight]]]]


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The ancestors of nimravids and cats diverged from a common ancestor soon after the [[Caniformia]]–[[Feliformia]] split, in the middle [[Eocene]] about 50 million years ago ([[mya (unit)|Ma]]), with a minimum constraint of 43 Ma. Some of the first nimravids, ''[[Maofelis]]'' and ''[[Pangurban]]'', appeared in the Middle [[Eocene]] epoch of [[Asia]] and [[North America]] respectively.{{cite journal |last1=Averianov |first1=Alexander |last2=Obraztsova |first2=Ekaterina |last3=Danilov |first3=Igor |last4=Skutschas |first4=Pavel |last5=Jin |first5=Jianhua |date=2016 |title=First nimravid skull from Asia |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=6 |article-number=25812 |bibcode=2016NatSR...625812A |doi=10.1038/srep25812 |pmc=4861911 |pmid=27161785}}{{Cite journal |last1=Poust |first1=Ashley W. |last2=Barrett |first2=Paul Z. |last3=Tomiya |first3=Susumu |year=2022 |title=An early nimravid from California and the rise of hypercarnivorous mammals after the middle Eocene climatic optimum |journal=Biology Letters |volume=18 |issue=10 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2022.0291 |hdl=2433/276689 |pmc=9554728 |s2cid=252818430 |hdl-access=free |article-number=20220291}}
The ancestors of nimravids and cats diverged from a common ancestor soon after the [[Caniformia]]–[[Feliformia]] split, in the middle [[Eocene]] about 50 million years ago ([[mya (unit)|Ma]]), with a minimum constraint of 43 Ma.


⚫
The global climate at this time was warm and wet, but was trending cooler and drier toward the late Eocene. The lush forests of the Eocene were transforming to scrub and open woodland. This climatic trend continued in the [[Oligocene]], and nimravids evidently flourished in this environment, with 13 contemporary species being present in the early Oligocene.{{Cite book |last=Prothero |first=Donald R. |author-link=Donald Prothero |title=After the Dinosaurs: The Age of Mammals |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-253-34733-6 |location=Bloomington, Indiana |pages=9, 132–134, 160, 167, 174, 176, 198, 222–233}}{{Cite bioRxiv |last1=Chabrol |first1=Nils |last2=Morlon |first2=Hélène |last3=Barido-Sottani |first3=Joëlle |date=July 2025 |title=The Fossilized Birth Death Process with heterogeneous diversification rates unravels the link between diversification and specialisation to a carnivorous diet in Nimravidae (Carnivoraformes) |pages=1–26 |biorxiv=10.1101/2025.07.15.664897}} Their diversification and increase in body size coincided with the decline and extinction of the [[Oxyaenidae|oxyaenids]], which opened the cat-like carnivore niche.{{Cite journal |last=Jiangzuo |first=Qigao |last2=Lyras |first2=Georgios |last3=Grohe |first3=Camille |last4=Werdelin |first4=Lars |last5=Niu |first5=Kecheng |last6=Huang |first6=Dongting |last7=Li |first7=Shijie |last8=Jiang |first8=Hao |last9=Fu |first9=Jiao |last10=Wan |first10=Yang |last11=Liu |first11=Jinyi |last12=Wang |first12=Shi-Qi |last13=Deng |first13=Tao |date=November 2025 |title=A new ecomorph of Nimravidae, and the early macrocarnivorous niche exploration in Carnivora |journal=Proceedings. Biological Sciences |volume=292 |issue=2059 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2025.1686 |issn=1471-2954 |pmc=12646760 |pmid=41290163 |article-number=20251686}} Nimravids first appeared in Europe within MP21 following the [[Grande Coupure]].
⚫
Some of the first nimravids, ''[[Maofelis]]'' and ''[[Pangurban]]'', appeared in the Middle [[Eocene]] epoch of [[Asia]] and [[North America]] respectively.{{cite journal |last1=Averianov |first1=Alexander |last2=Obraztsova |first2=Ekaterina |last3=Danilov |first3=Igor |last4=Skutschas |first4=Pavel |last5=Jin |first5=Jianhua |date=2016 |title=First nimravid skull from Asia |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=6 |article-number=25812 |bibcode=2016NatSR...625812A |doi=10.1038/srep25812 |pmc=4861911 |pmid=27161785}}{{Cite journal |last1=Poust |first1=Ashley W. |last2=Barrett |first2=Paul Z. |last3=Tomiya |first3=Susumu |year=2022 |title=An early nimravid from California and the rise of hypercarnivorous mammals after the middle Eocene climatic optimum |journal=Biology Letters |volume=18 |issue=10 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2022.0291 |hdl=2433/276689 |pmc=9554728 |s2cid=252818430 |hdl-access=free |article-number=20220291}}


[[Barbourofelinae|Barbourofelines]] probably evolved from [[Nimravinae|nimravines]] dispersing into Africa during the Oligocene. The presence of large [[Hyaenodonta|hyaenodonts]] prevented them from reaching a large size but were able to carve a niche due to their dental morphology. Eventually, they dispersed from Africa into Eurasia and later into North America. It was hypothesized that arrival of barbourofelines, along with felids, played a role in the decline and extinction of [[Hesperocyoninae|hesperocyonines]].{{Cite journal |last=Silvestro|first=Daniele|last2=Antonelli|first2=Alexandre|last3=Salamin|first3=Nicolas|last4=Quental|first4=Tiago B.|date=14 July 2015|title=The role of clade competition in the diversification of North American canids|journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]]|language=en|volume=112|issue=28|pages=8684–8689|doi=10.1073/pnas.1502803112|doi-access=free|issn=0027-8424|pmc=4507235|pmid=26124128}} Barbourofelines experienced an increase in diversity during the [[Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum]] and the Late Miocene, roughly 10 Ma.
⚫
The global climate at this time was warm and wet, but was trending cooler and drier toward the late Eocene. The lush forests of the Eocene were transforming to scrub and open woodland. This climatic trend continued in the [[Oligocene]], and nimravids evidently flourished in this environment, with 13 contemporary species being present in the early Oligocene.{{Cite book |last=Prothero |first=Donald R. |author-link=Donald Prothero |title=After the Dinosaurs: The Age of Mammals |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-253-34733-6 |location=Bloomington, Indiana |pages=9, 132–134, 160, 167, 174, 176, 198, 222–233}}{{Cite bioRxiv |last1=Chabrol|first1=Nils|last2=Morlon|first2=Hélène|last3=Barido-Sottani|first3=Joëlle|date=July 2025|title=The Fossilized Birth Death Process with heterogeneous diversification rates unravels the link between diversification and specialisation to a carnivorous diet in Nimravidae (Carnivoraformes)|pages=1–26|biorxiv=10.1101/2025.07.15.664897}} Their diversification and increase in body size coincided with the decline and extinction of the [[Oxyaenidae|oxyaenids]] following the [[Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum]], which opened the cat-like carnivore niche.{{Cite journal |last=Jiangzuo |first=Qigao |last2=Lyras |first2=Georgios |last3=Grohe |first3=Camille |last4=Werdelin |first4=Lars |last5=Niu |first5=Kecheng |last6=Huang |first6=Dongting |last7=Li |first7=Shijie |last8=Jiang |first8=Hao |last9=Fu |first9=Jiao |last10=Wan |first10=Yang |last11=Liu |first11=Jinyi |last12=Wang |first12=Shi-Qi |last13=Deng |first13=Tao |date=November 2025 |title=A new ecomorph of Nimravidae, and the early macrocarnivorous niche exploration in Carnivora |journal=Proceedings. Biological Sciences |volume=292 |issue=2059 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2025.1686 |issn=1471-2954 |pmc=12646760 |pmid=41290163 |article-number=20251686}} Nimravids made their appearance in Europe within MP21 following [[Grande Coupure]].

[[Barbourofelinae|Barbourofelines]] probably evolved from [[Nimravinae|nimravines]] dispersing into Africa during the Oligocene. The presence of large [[Hyaenodonta|hyaenodonts]] prevented them from reaching a large size but were able to carve a niche due to their dental morphology. Eventually, they dispersed from Africa into Eurasia and later into North America.


=== Extinction ===
=== Extinction ===
Both hoplophonines and nimravines died out during the Oligocene epoch, with the last taxa going extinct 29.5 and 25.9 Ma respectively. In Europe, nimravids went extinct during the early Oligocene, coinciding with increased aridity in Europe.{{cite journal |last1=Solé|first1=Floréal|last2=Fischer|first2=Valentin|last3=Le Verger|first3=Kévin|last4=Mennecart|first4=Bastien|last5=Speijer|first5=Robert P.|last6=Peigné|first6=Stéphane|last7=Smith|first7=Thierry|year=2022|title=Evolution of European carnivorous mammal assemblages through the Paleogene|journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society|volume=135|issue=4|pages=734–753|doi=10.1093/biolinnean/blac002|url=https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/135/4/734/6532007?login=false}} In North America, their extinction also coincided with the expansion of grasslands, in addition to competition with [[Amphicyonidae|amphicyonids]].{{Cite journal |last=Castellanos |first=Miguel |date=2025 |title=Hunting types in North American Eocene–Oligocene carnivores and implications for the ‘cat-gap’ |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10914-025-09767-2 |journal=Journal of Mammalian Evolution |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=1-12 |doi=10.1007/s10914-025-09767-2 |url-access=subscription}} The extinction of North American nimravids started the infamous [[cat gap]], a 7 million year period when no cat-like predators were present in North America.{{cite book |last=Antón |first=Mauricio |author-link=Mauricio Antón |title=Sabertooth |date=2013 |publisher=University of Indiana Press |isbn=978-0-253-01042-1 |location=Bloomington, Indiana |page=90}}
Both hoplophonines and nimravines died out during the Oligocene epoch, with the last taxa going extinct 29.5 and 25.9 Ma respectively. In Europe, nimravids went extinct during the early Oligocene, coinciding with increased aridity in Europe.{{cite journal |last1=Solé|first1=Floréal|last2=Fischer|first2=Valentin|last3=Le Verger|first3=Kévin|last4=Mennecart|first4=Bastien|last5=Speijer|first5=Robert P.|last6=Peigné|first6=Stéphane|last7=Smith|first7=Thierry|year=2022|title=Evolution of European carnivorous mammal assemblages through the Paleogene|journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society|volume=135|issue=4|pages=734–753|doi=10.1093/biolinnean/blac002|url=https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/135/4/734/6532007?login=false}} In North America, their extinction also coincided with the expansion of grasslands, in addition to competition with [[Amphicyonidae|amphicyonids]].{{Cite journal |last=Castellanos |first=Miguel |date=2025 |title=Hunting types in North American Eocene–Oligocene carnivores and implications for the ‘cat-gap’ |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10914-025-09767-2 |journal=Journal of Mammalian Evolution |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=1-12 |doi=10.1007/s10914-025-09767-2 |url-access=subscription}} The extinction of North American nimravids started the infamous [[cat gap]], a 7 million year period when no cat-like predators were present in North America.{{cite book |last=Antón |first=Mauricio |author-link=Mauricio Antón |title=Sabertooth |date=2013 |publisher=University of Indiana Press |isbn=978-0-253-01042-1 |location=Bloomington, Indiana |page=90}}


Barbourofelines went extinct during the late Miocene, around 7 Ma, for unknown reasons. Antón Mauricio suggested competition with [[machairodontinae|machairodonts]] such as ''[[Machairodus]]'' and ''[[Nimravides]]'', may have contributed to their extinction, as barbourofelines were widely successful despite the wider expansion of grasslands. However, Paul Barret has contested this hypothesis because of the limited temporal overlap between both clades. In addition, ''[[Albanosmilus]]'', the last genus to go extinct in Eurasia, was also able to coexist and compete with machairodonts ''[[Amphimachairodus]]'' and ''Machairodus'' in some localities for over a million years.{{cite journal |last1=Jiangzuo |first1=Q |last2=Werdelin |first2=L |last3=Sanisidro |first3=O |last4=Yang |first4=Rong |last5=Fu |first5=Jiao |last6=Li |first6=Shijie |last7=Wang |first7=Shiqi |last8=Deng |first8=Tao |date=April 2023 |title=Origin of adaptations to openenvironments and social behaviour insabretoothed cats from the northeasternborder of the Tibetan Plateau |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/370122411 |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=290 |issue=1997 |pages=7–8 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2023.0019 |pmc=10113030 |pmid=37072045 |s2cid=20230019}}{{cite journal |author=Michael Morlo |title=New remains of Barbourofelidae from the Miocene of Southern Germany: implications for the history of barbourid migrations |journal=Beiträge zur Paläontologie, Wien |volume=30 |pages=339–346 |year=2006 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233791187}}{{cite journal |last1=Domingo |first1=Laura |last2=Domingo |first2=M. Soledad |last3=Koch |first3=Paul L. |last4=Alberdi |first4=M. Teresa |date=May 10, 2017 |title=Carnivoran resource and habitat use in the context of a Late Miocene faunal turnover episode |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pala.12296 |journal=Palaeontology |volume=60 |issue=4 |pages=461–483 |doi=10.1111/pala.12296}} Other experts suggested it was more likely barbourofelines went extinct because of the faunal overturn during the Late Miocene due to the wider expansion of grasslands.{{Cite journal |last1=Jiangzuo |first1=Qigao |last2=Li |first2=Shijie |last3=Deng |first3=Tao |date=2022 |title=Parallelism and lineage replacement of the late Miocene scimitar-toothed cats from the old and New World |url=https://www.cell.com/iscience/pdf/S2589-0042(22)01909-5.pdf |journal=iScience |volume=25 |issue=12 |article-number=105637 |bibcode=2022iSci...25j5637J |doi=10.1016/j.isci.2022.105637 |pmc=9730133 |pmid=36505925}}{{cite journal |author=Michael Morlo |title=New remains of Barbourofelidae from the Miocene of Southern Germany: implications for the history of barbourid migrations |journal=Beiträge zur Paläontologie, Wien |volume=30 |pages=339–346 |year=2006 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233791187}}
Barbourofelines went extinct during the late Miocene, around 7 Ma, for unknown reasons. Antón Mauricio suggested competition with [[machairodontinae|machairodonts]] such as ''[[Machairodus]]'' and ''[[Nimravides]]'', may have contributed to their extinction, as barbourofelines were widely successful despite the wider expansion of grasslands. However, Paul Barret has contested this hypothesis because of the limited temporal overlap between both clades. In addition, ''[[Albanosmilus]]'', the last genus to go extinct in Eurasia, was also able to coexist and compete with machairodonts ''[[Amphimachairodus]]'' and ''Machairodus'' in some localities for over a million years.{{cite journal |last1=Jiangzuo |first1=Q |last2=Werdelin |first2=L |last3=Sanisidro |first3=O |last4=Yang |first4=Rong |last5=Fu |first5=Jiao |last6=Li |first6=Shijie |last7=Wang |first7=Shiqi |last8=Deng |first8=Tao |date=April 2023 |title=Origin of adaptations to openenvironments and social behaviour insabretoothed cats from the northeasternborder of the Tibetan Plateau |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/370122411 |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=290 |issue=1997 |pages=7–8 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2023.0019 |pmc=10113030 |pmid=37072045 |s2cid=20230019}}{{cite journal |author=Michael Morlo |title=New remains of Barbourofelidae from the Miocene of Southern Germany: implications for the history of barbourid migrations |journal=Beiträge zur Paläontologie, Wien |volume=30 |pages=339–346 |year=2006 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233791187}}{{cite journal |last1=Domingo |first1=Laura |last2=Domingo |first2=M. Soledad |last3=Koch |first3=Paul L. |last4=Alberdi |first4=M. Teresa |date=May 10, 2017 |title=Carnivoran resource and habitat use in the context of a Late Miocene faunal turnover episode |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pala.12296 |journal=Palaeontology |volume=60 |issue=4 |pages=461–483 |doi=10.1111/pala.12296}} Other experts suggested it was more likely barbourofelines went extinct because of the faunal overturn during the Late Miocene due to the wider expansion of grasslands.{{Cite journal |last1=Jiangzuo |first1=Qigao |last2=Li |first2=Shijie |last3=Deng |first3=Tao |date=2022 |title=Parallelism and lineage replacement of the late Miocene scimitar-toothed cats from the old and New World |url=https://www.cell.com/iscience/pdf/S2589-0042(22)01909-5.pdf |journal=iScience |volume=25 |issue=12 |article-number=105637 |bibcode=2022iSci...25j5637J |doi=10.1016/j.isci.2022.105637 |pmc=9730133 |pmid=36505925}}{{cite journal |author=Michael Morlo |title=New remains of Barbourofelidae from the Miocene of Southern Germany: implications for the history of barbourid migrations |journal=Beiträge zur Paläontologie, Wien |volume=30 |pages=339–346 |year=2006 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233791187}}


==References==
==References==
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