{{Short description|Extinct family of mammals in the order Carnivora}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = Middle Eocene–Late Miocene {{Fossil range|earliest=47.4|41.03|7}} Possible Lutetian records | image = Hoplophoneus primevus IMG 4443 (cropped).jpg | image_caption = Skeleton of ''Hoplophoneus primaevus'' | display_parents = 2 | taxon = Nimravidae | authority = Cope, 1880 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision_ref = <ref name=Barrett21>{{Cite journal|last=Barrett|first=Paul Zachary|date=2021-10-26|title=The largest hoplophonine and a complex new hypothesis of nimravid evolution|journal=Scientific Reports|language=en|volume=11|issue=1|article-number=21078|doi=10.1038/s41598-021-00521-1|issn=2045-2322|pmid=34702935|pmc=8548586 |bibcode=2021NatSR..1121078B }}</ref> | subdivision = * †''Maofelis'' * {{extinct}}''Pangurban''<ref name="Pangurban">{{Cite journal |last1=Poust |first1=Ashley W. |last2=Barrett |first2=Paul Z. |last3=Tomiya |first3=Susumu |title=An early nimravid from California and the rise of hypercarnivorous mammals after the middle Eocene climatic optimum |journal=Biology Letters |year=2022 |volume=18 |issue=10 |article-number=20220291 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2022.0291|hdl=2433/276689 |s2cid=252818430 |hdl-access=free |pmc=9554728 }}</ref> * †'''Hoplophoneinae''' ** †''Hoplophoneus'' ** †''Eusmilus'' ** †''Nanosmilus'' * †'''Nimravinae''' (paraphyletic) * †'''Barbourofelinae''' | synonyms = Barbourofelidae? <small>Schultz, et al., 1970</small> }}
'''Nimravidae''' is an extinct family of carnivorans, sometimes known as '''false saber-toothed cats''', whose fossils are found in North America, Africa, and Eurasia. Nimravids were the first lineage of carnivorans to evolve large body sizes and specialized into hunting large bodied prey.<ref name="Jiangzuo-2025" /> Not considered to belong to the true cats (family Felidae), the nimravids are generally considered closely related and classified as a distinct family in the suborder Feliformia.<ref name="Barrett21" /> The family consisted of three subfamilies hoplophonines, nimravines, and barbourofelines. Barboroufelines were initially classified as a subfamily of the Nimravidae since 1991, however in 2004, they were reassigned to their own distinct family.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Morlo |first1=Michael |last2=Peigné |first2=Stéphane |last3=Nagel |first3=Doris |date=January 2004 |title=A new species of Prosansanosmilus: implications for the systematic relationships of the family Barbourofelidae new rank (Carnivora, Mammalia). |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=140 |issue=1 |page=43 |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.2004.00087.x|doi-access=free }}</ref> Since 2020, the majority of experts consider barbourofelines as nimravids again.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Xiaoming |last2=White |first2=Stuart C. |last3=Guan |first3=Jian |title=A new genus and species of sabretooth, Oriensmilus liupanensis (Barbourofelinae, Nimravidae, Carnivora), from the middle Miocene of China suggests barbourofelines are nimravids, not felids |journal=Journal of Systematic Palaeontology |date=2 May 2020 |volume=18 |issue=9 |pages=783–803 |doi=10.1080/14772019.2019.1691066 |bibcode=2020JSPal..18..783W |s2cid=211545222 |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0g62362j |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Barrett21" /><ref name="Barrettetal21">{{Cite journal |last1=Barrett |first1=P. Z. |last2=Hopkins |first2=W. S. B. |last3=Price |first3=S. A. |year=2021 |title=How many sabertooths? Reevaluating the number of carnivoran sabertooth lineages with total-evidence Bayesian techniques and a novel origin of the Miocene Nimravidae |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=41 |issue=1 |article-number=e1923523 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2021.1923523 |bibcode=2021JVPal..41E3523B |s2cid=236221655}}</ref><ref name="Werdelin-2021">{{Cite journal |last=Werdelin |first=Lars |date=November 2021 |title=African Barbourofelinae (Mammalia, Nimravidae): a critical review |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/356101795 |journal=Historical Biology |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=1347–1355 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2021.1998034}}</ref><ref name="Jasinski-2022">{{Cite journal |last1=Jasinski |first1=Steven E. |last2=Abbas |first2=Ghyour |last3=Mahmood |first3=Khalid |display-authors=et al. |date=November 2022 |title=New Carnivoran (Mammalia: Carnivora) specimens from the Siwaliks of Pakistan and India and their faunal and evolutionary implications |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/365095742 |journal=Historical Biology |volume=35 |issue=11 |pages=2217–2252 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2022.2138376}}</ref> Nimravids first appeared in the Middle Eocene in Asia, with ''Maofelis'' being the most plesiomorphic taxa.<ref name="Barrettetal21" /><ref name="Alexander Averianov 20162" /> The family would go extinct around 7 Ma.<ref name="Barrett21" />
==Taxonomy== The family Nimravidae was named by American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope in 1880,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cope |first=E. D. |author-link=Edward Drinker Cope |date=1889 |title=Synopsis of the Families of Vertebrata |journal=The American Naturalist |volume=23 |pages=1–29}}</ref> with the type genus as ''Nimravus.'' The family was assigned to Fissipedia by Cope (1889); to Caniformia by Flynn and Galiano (1982); to Aeluroidea by Carroll (1988); to Feliformia by Bryant (1991); and to Carnivoramorpha, by Wesley-Hunt and Werdelin (2005).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Flynn |first1=John J. |last2=Galiano |first2=Henry |date=1982 |title=Phylogeny of early Tertiary Carnivora, with a description of a new species of Protictis from the middle Eocene of Northwestern Wyoming |journal=American Museum Novitates |hdl=2246/5338}}</ref>
Nimravids are placed in tribes by some authors to reflect closer relationships between genera within the family. Some nimravids evolved into large, toothed, cat-like forms with massive flattened upper canines and accompanying mandibular flanges. Some had dentition similar to felids, or modern cats, with smaller canines. Others had moderately increased canines in a more intermediate relationship between the saber-toothed cats and felids. The upper canines were not only shorter, but also more conical, than those of the true saber-toothed cats (Machairodontinae). These nimravids are referred to as "false saber-tooths". The barbourofelids were for a while no longer included in Nimravidae, following elevation to family as sister clade to the true cats (family Felidae).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Morlo |first1=Michael |last2=Peigné |first2=Stéphane |last3=Nagel |first3=Doris |name-list-style=amp |date=January 2004 |title=A new species of ''Prosansanosmilus'': implications for the systematic relationships of the family Barbourofelidae new rank (Carnivora, Mammalia) |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=140 |issue=1 |page=43 |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.2004.00087.x |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Werdelin |first1=L. |title=Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids |last2=Yamaguchi |first2=N. |last3=Johnson |first3=W. E. |last4=O'Brien |first4=S. J. |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-923445-5 |editor1-last=Macdonald |editor1-first=D. W. |location=Oxford, UK |pages=59–82 |chapter=Phylogeny and evolution of cats (Felidae) |editor2-last=Loveridge |editor2-first=A. J. |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266755142 |name-list-style=amp}}</ref> However, majority of recent studies have returned them to Nimravidae, with one study suggesting they are part of Nimravinae.<ref name="Barrett21" /><ref name="Barrettetal21" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Barret |first1=Paul Z. |last2=Hopkins |first2=Samantha |date=August 14, 2024 |title=Mosaic evolution underlies feliform morphological disparity |journal= Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|volume=291 |issue=2028 |article-number=20240756 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2024.0756 |pmid=39137889 |pmc=11321862 |biorxiv=}}</ref><ref name="Werdelin-2021" /><ref name="Jasinski-2022" />
Not only did nimravids exhibit diverse dentition, but they also showed the same diversity in size and morphology as cats. Nimravids such as ''Barbourofelis morrisi'', ''Eusmilus sicarius'', and ''Hoplophoneus'' ''occidentalis'' were leopard-sized,<ref name="Turner2">{{cite book |last=Turner |first=Alan |url=https://archive.org/details/bigcatstheirfoss00turn |title=The Big Cats and their Fossil Relatives: an illustrated guide |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-231-10228-5 |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bigcatstheirfoss00turn/page/n267 234] |url-access=limited}}</ref>''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Antón |first=Mauricio |date=March 3, 2013 |title=Meet an early "extreme" sabertooth: Eusmilus sicarius |url=https://chasingsabretooths.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/meet-an-early-extreme-sabertooth-eusmilus-sicarius/ |access-date=April 28, 2025 |website=chasing sabertooths}}</ref>''<ref name="Sabertooth">{{cite book |last=Antón |first=Mauricio |title=Sabertooth |date=2013 |publisher=University of Indiana Press |isbn=978-0-253-01042-1 |location=Bloomington, Indiana |page=104}}</ref> while some, such as ''Albanosmilus jourdani'' and ''E. adelos'', were the size jaguars to small lions.<ref name="Barrett21" /><ref name="Sabertooth2">{{cite book |last=Antón |first=Mauricio |title=Sabertooth |date=2013 |publisher=University of Indiana Press |isbn=978-0-253-01042-1 |location=Bloomington, Indiana |page=104}}</ref> The largest nimravids, ''Quercylurus'' and ''Barbourofelis fricki'', were able to reach even larger sizes, weighing {{cvt|200|kg|lb}} and {{convert|328|kg|lbs|abbr=on}} respectively.<ref name="Peigne3">{{cite journal |last1=Peigne |first1=Stephane |date=May 2003 |title=Systematic review of European Nimravinae (Mammalia, Carnivora, Nimravidae) and the phylogenetic relationships of Palaeogene Nimravidae |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1463-6409.2003.00116.x |journal=Zoologica Scripta |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=199–229 |doi=10.1046/j.1463-6409.2003.00116.x |s2cid=86827900 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="Barrett21" /> ''Dinaelurus'' had the short face, rounded skull, and smaller canines of the modern cheetah,<ref name="Barrett21" /> and some such as ''E. bidentatus'' and ''Nanosmilus'', were only the size of a small bobcat.<ref>Martin, L. D. (1991, January). [http://www.sekj.org/PDF/anzf28/anz28-341-348.pdf A new miniature saber-toothed nimravid from the Oligocene of Nebraska]. In ''Annales Zoologici Fennici'' (pp. 341-348). Finnish Zoological Publishing Board, formed by the Finnish Academy of Sciences, Societas Biologica Fennica Vanamo, Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica, and Societas Scientiarum Fennica.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Antón |first=Mauricio |title=Sabertooth |date=2013 |publisher=University of Indiana Press |isbn=978-0-253-01042-1 |location=Bloomington, Indiana |pages=97}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" |+ style="text-align:left;" |Family †Nimravidae |- ! Tribe !! Image !! Genus !! Species |- style="vertical-align:top;" ! rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;" | | ||†'''''Dinailurictis''''' {{small|(Helbing, 1922)}} || * †''D. bonali'' |- style="vertical-align:top;" ! rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;" | |175px ||†'''''Dinictis''''' {{small|(Leidy, 1854)}} || * †''D. felina'' |- style="vertical-align:top;" ! rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;" | | ||†'''''Eofelis''''' {{small|(Kretzoi, 1938)}} || * †''E. edwardsii'' * †''E. giganteus'' |- style="vertical-align:top;" ! rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;" | | ||†'''''Saketoteron''''' {{small|(Srivastava & Verma, 1970)}} || * †''S. tatroinse'' |- style="vertical-align:top;" ! rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;" | |175px ||†'''''Maofelis'''''<ref name="Alexander Averianov 2016">{{Cite journal |last1=Averianov |first1=Alexander |last2=Obraztsova |first2=Ekaterina |last3=Danilov |first3=Igor |last4=Skutschas |first4=Pavel |last5=Jin |first5=Jianhua |date=2016-05-10 |title=First nimravid skull from Asia |journal=Scientific Reports |language=En |volume=6 |issue=1 |article-number=25812 |doi=10.1038/srep25812 |pmc=4861911 |pmid=27161785 |bibcode=2016NatSR...625812A }}</ref> {{small|(Averianov et al., 2016)}} || * †''M. cantonensis'' |- style="vertical-align:top;" ! rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;" | | ||†'''''Pangurban'''''<ref name="Pangurban" /> {{small|(Poust et al, 2022)}} || * †''P. egiae'' |- style="vertical-align:top;" ! rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;" | |175px ||†'''''Pogonodon''''' {{small|(Cope, 1880)}} || * †''P. davisi'' * †''P. platycopis'' |- style="vertical-align:top;" ! rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;" | | ||†'''''Quercylurus''''' {{small|(Ginsburg 1979)}} || * †''Q. major'' |- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccccFF;" ! rowspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#ccccFF;" |†''Nimravini'' | ||†'''''Dinaelurus''''' {{small|(Eaton, 1922)}} || * †''D. crassus'' |- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccccFF;" |175px ||†'''''Nimravus''''' {{small|(Cope, 1879)}} || * †''N. brachyops'' * †''N. intermedius'' |- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccFFcc;" ! rowspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#ccFFcc;" |†''Hoplophoneini'' |175px ||†'''''Hoplophoneus'''''<ref name="Barrett16">{{cite journal |first1=P.Z. |last1=Barrett |date=2016 |title=Taxonomic and systematic revisions to the North American Nimravidae (Mammalia, Carnivora) |journal=PeerJ |volume=4 |article-number=e1658 |doi=10.7717/peerj.1658 |pmc=4756750 |pmid=26893959 |doi-access=free }}</ref> {{small|(Cope, 1874)}} {{font color|black|yellow| (Subgenus: †'''''Eusmilus'''''<ref name=Barrett16/> {{small|(Eaton, 1922)}}) }} || * {{font color|black|yellow| †''H. bidentatus'' }} * {{font color|black|yellow| †''H. cerebralis'' }} * †''H. dakotensis'' * †''H. mentalis'' * †''H. occidentalis'' * †''H. oharrai'' * †''H. primaevus'' * {{font color|black|yellow| †''H. sicarius'' }} * {{font color|black|yellow|†''H. villebramarensis''}} |- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccFFcc;" | ||†'''''Nanosmilus''''' {{small|(Martin, 1992)}} || * †''N. kurteni'' |}
===Phylogeny=== The phylogenetic relationships of Nimravidae are shown in the following cladogram:<ref name="Alexander Averianov 2016" /><ref name="Barrett16" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Peigne |first=Stéphane |date=May 2003 |title=Systematic review of European Nimravinae (Mammalia, Carnivora, Nimravidae) and the phylogenetic relationships of Palaeogene Nimravidae |journal=Zoologica Scripta |language=en |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=199–229 |doi=10.1046/j.1463-6409.2003.00116.x |s2cid=86827900 }}</ref>
A 2021 study divides Nimravidae into Hoplophoninae and Nimravinae, the latter including the bulk of species in addition to barbourofelins.
Phylogeny of Nimravidae from the 2022 description of ''Pangurban'':<ref name="Pangurban" />
{{Clade |label1='''Nimravidae''' |1={{Clade |1=''Maofelis cantonensis'' |2={{Clade |1=MA-PHQ 348 |2={{Clade |label1=Nimravinae |1={{Clade |1={{Clade |1=''Dinictis felina'' |label2=''Pogonodon'' |2={{Clade |1=''Pogonodon davisi'' |2=''Pogonodon platycopis'' }} }} |2={{Clade |1={{Clade |1=''Dinaelurus crassus'' |label2=''Nimravus'' |2={{Clade |1=''Nimravus brachyops'' |2=''Nimravus intermedius'' }} }} |2={{Clade |1=''Eofelis edwardsii'' |2={{Clade |1=''Dinailurictis bonali'' |2=''Quercylurus major'' }} }} }} }} |label2=Hoplophoneini |2={{Clade |1=''Pangurban egiae'' |2={{Clade |1=''Hoplophoneus oharrai'' |2={{Clade |1={{Clade |1=''Hoplophoneus occidentalis'' |2=''Hoplophoneus primaevus'' }} |2={{Clade |1=''Nanosmilus kurteni'' |label2=''Eusmilus'' |2={{Clade |1=''Eusmilus dakotensis'' |2={{Clade |1=''Eusmilus sicarius'' |2={{Clade |1=''Eusmilus adelos'' |2={{Clade |1=''Eusmilus cerebralis'' |2={{Clade |1=''Eusmilus bidentatus'' |2=''Eusmilus villebramarensis'' }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }}
==Morphology == Most nimravids had muscular, low-slung, cat-like bodies, with shorter legs and tails than are typical of cats. Unlike extant Feliformia, the nimravids had a different bone structure in the small bones of the ear. The middle ear of true cats is housed in an external structure called an auditory bulla, which is separated by a septum into two chambers. Nimravid remains show ossified bullae with no septum, or no trace at all of the entire bulla. They are assumed to have had a cartilaginous housing of the ear mechanism.<ref name="Turner">{{cite book |last=Turner|first=Alan|title=The Big Cats and their Fossil Relatives: an illustrated guide|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=1997|isbn=0-231-10228-3|location=New York|page=234}}</ref> Nimravid feet were short, indicating they walked in a plantigrade or semiplantigrade posture, i.e., on the flat of the feet rather than the toes, like modern cats.<ref name="Antón-2013" />
Although some nimravids physically resembled the saber-toothed cats, such as ''Smilodon'', they were not closely related,<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 16, 2012|title=Meet the Cat Family|url=http://archives.sundayobserver.lk/2012/07/15/jun04.asp|access-date=January 2, 2013|work=The Sunday Observer|department=Junior Observer|publisher=Associated Newspapers of Ceylon|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka}}</ref> but evolved a similar form through parallel evolution. They had synapomorphies with the barbourofelins in the cranium, mandible, dentition, and postcranium.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bryant|first=Harold N.|date=February 1991|title=Phylogenetic Relationships and Systematics of the Nimravidae (Carnivora)|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|location=Lawrence, Kansas|publisher=American Society of Mammalogists|volume=72|issue=1|pages=56–78|doi=10.2307/1381980|jstor=1381980 |bibcode=1991JMamm..72...56B }}</ref> They also had a downward-projecting flange on the front of the mandible as long as the canine teeth, a feature that also convergently evolved in the saber-toothed sparassodont ''Thylacosmilus''. While most nimravids were thought to have been ambush predators,<ref name="Naples-2008">{{cite journal |last1=Naples|first1=V. L.|last2=Martin|first2=L. D.|date=June 2008|title=Restoration of the superficial facial musculature in nimravids|journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society|volume=130|issue=1|pages=55–81|doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.2000.tb02195.x}}</ref><ref name="Ormsby-2021">{{cite thesis |last=Ormsby|first=Christianne|title=Morphology and Paleoecology of Nimravides galiani (Felidae) and Barbourofelis loveorum (Barbourofelidae) from the Late Miocene of Florida|date=May 2021|degree=MS (Master of Science)|url=https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3902}}</ref><ref name="Morlo-2010">{{Cite book |last1=Morlo|first1=Michael|title=Carnivoran Evolution|last2=Gunnell|first2=Gregg F.|last3=Nagel|first3=Doris|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2010|isbn=978-1-139-19343-6|pages=269–310|language=English|chapter=10 - Ecomorphological analysis of carnivore guilds in the Eocene through Miocene of Laurasia|doi=10.1017/CBO9781139193436.011|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/24842570}}</ref><ref name="Castellanos-2025c">{{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|article-number=25 |doi=10.1007/s10914-025-09767-2|url-access=subscription}}</ref> some such as ''Eusmilus adelos'' and ''Pogonodon'' ''davisi'' were recovered as pounce-pursuit predators.<ref name="Castellanos-2025b">{{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|article-number=25 |doi=10.1007/s10914-025-09767-2|url-access=subscription}}</ref> ''Albanosmilus whitfordi'' and ''Dinaelurus'' are thought to have been cursorial predators, although no post cranial remains have been found for ''Dinaelurus''.<ref name="HB">{{cite book |last=Bryant|first=Harold N.|title=The Terrestrial Eocene-Oligocene Transition in North America|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1996|isbn=0-521-43387-8|editor=Donald R. Prothero and Robert J. Emry|location=Cambridge, England|page=468|chapter=Nimravidae}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Andersson|first1=Ki|last2=Werdelin|first2=Lars|date=December 2003|title=The evolution of cursorial carnivores in the Tertiary: Implications of elbow-joint morphology|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8967327|journal= Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences|volume=270|issue=Suppl 2|pages=S163-5|doi=10.1098/rsbl.2003.0070|pmid=14667370|pmc=1809930 |bibcode=2003PBioS.270.0070A }}</ref><ref name="Barrett21" />
A 2021 study has shown that a sizeable number of species developed feline-like morphologies in addition to saber-toothed taxa.<ref name="Barrettetal21" />
== Evolution == thumb|Feliform evolutionary timeline [[File:Dinictis_and_Protoceras.jpg|thumb|Restoration of ''Dinictis'' and ''Protoceras'' by Charles R. Knight]]
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 (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.<ref name="Alexander Averianov 20162">{{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}}</ref><ref name="Pangurban2">{{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}}</ref> Macrocarnivorous (specialization for hunting large prey) adaptations were already present in the earlist nimravids, making them one of the first carnivoran lineages to have specialization towards large bodied prey, as well as the first carnivoran lineage to evolve large body sizes.<ref name="Jiangzuo-2025" />
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.<ref name="Prothero">{{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}}</ref><ref name="Chabrol-2025">{{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}}</ref> Their diversification and increase in body size coincided with the decline and extinction of the oxyaenids, which opened the cat-like carnivore niche.<ref name="Jiangzuo-2025">{{Cite journal |last1=Jiangzuo |first1=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 |pmc-embargo-date=November 26, 2026 }}</ref><ref name="Chabrol-2025" /> Nimravids first appeared in Europe within MP21 following the Grande Coupure.<ref name="Evolution of European carnivorous mammal assemblages" />
Barbourofelines probably evolved from nimravines dispersing into Africa during the Oligocene. The presence of large 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.<ref name="Barrett21" /> It was hypothesized that arrival of barbourofelines, along with felids, played a role in the decline and extinction of hesperocyonines.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Silvestro|first1=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 |bibcode=2015PNAS..112.8684S }}</ref> Barbourofelines experienced an increase in diversity during the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum and the Late Miocene, roughly 10 Ma.<ref name="Chabrol-2025" />
=== Extinction === Both hoplophonines and nimravines died out during the Oligocene epoch, with the last taxa going extinct 29.5 and 25.9 Ma respectively.<ref name="Barrett21" /> In Europe, nimravids went extinct during the early Oligocene, coinciding with increased aridity in Europe.<ref name="Evolution of European carnivorous mammal assemblages">{{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}}</ref> In North America, their extinction also coincided with the expansion of grasslands, in addition to competition with amphicyonids.<ref name="Castellanos-2025a">{{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 |article-number=25 |doi=10.1007/s10914-025-09767-2 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="Antón-2013" /> 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.<ref name="Antón-2013">{{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}}</ref>
Barbourofelines went extinct during the late Miocene, around 7 Ma, for unknown reasons.<ref name="Barrett21" /> Antón Mauricio suggested competition with machairodonts such as ''Machairodus'' and ''Nimravides'', may have contributed to their extinction, as barbourofelines were widely successful despite the wider expansion of grasslands.<ref name="Antón-2013" /> However, Paul Barret has contested this hypothesis because of the limited temporal overlap between both clades.<ref name="Barrett21" /> 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.<ref name="Jiangzuo-2023">{{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}}</ref><ref name=Morlo2006>{{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}}</ref><ref name="Domingo-2017">{{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 |bibcode=2017Palgy..60..461D }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Barrett21" /><ref name="Jiangzuo2022">{{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}}</ref><ref name=Morlo2006>{{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}}</ref><ref name="Chabrol-2025" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{cite journal |last1=Peigné |first1=Stephane |last2=De Bonis |first2=Louis |title=Juvenile cranial anatomy of Nimravidae (Mammalia, Carnivora): biological and phylogenetic implications |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |date=August 2003 |volume=138 |issue=4 |pages=477–493 |doi=10.1046/j.1096-3642.2003.00066.x |doi-access=free }} * {{Wikispecies-inline}}
{{Nimravidae}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q131889}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Nimravidae Category:Prehistoric mammal families Category:Bartonian first appearances Category:Tortonian extinctions Category:Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope