Dinaelurus

Dinaelurus is a genus of the Nimravidae, an extinct family of feliform mammalian carnivores, also known as "false saber-toothed cats". Assigned to the subfamily Nimravinae, Dinaelurus was endemic to North America during the Oligocene epoch, existing for approximately. ''^{Including supplementary materials}''

Taxonomy

Dinaelurus was named by George Francis Eaton in 1922, with a single species, Dinaelurus crassus. It was assigned to Nimravinae by Flynn and Galiano in 1982. One specimen was found in the John Day Formation in Oregon.

Dinaelurus had a skull extremely broad for its length and had conical teeth; it exhibited little or no development of sabertooth features and had more rounded cheek teeth with no serrated ridges. It had a relatively gracile skeleton and may have had digitigrade feet. It is believed that Dinaelurus was a cursorial predator that ran down its prey. This is suggested by the nimravid's short face and large nostrils, similar to those of a cheetah, which is also a cursorial predator.