New sabre toothed felidae (Carnivora, mammalia) in the hominid-bearing sites of toros menalla (late miocene, Chad)

Abstract

The late Miocene fossil-bearing localities of Toros Menalla (Chad) have yielded a huge amount of vertebrate remains with, in particular, the hominid Sahelanthropus tchadensis Brunet et al., 2002. The order Carnivora is well represented in the fauna (with up to 23 species) and we describe here a new genus and species together with a species not previously recorded in the fauna. Both species belong to the saber-toothed felids. The new genus, size of a lynx, is known by jaws and several post-cranial bones. It displays in the upper canines, mandible and bones of the fore limb some features indicating machairodont affinities. The second genus, size of a leopard and well known in Africa, is only present through a characteristic upper canine. The presence of eight species of Felidae into 23 species of carnivorans is much rare into the Miocene carnivoran assemblages and is discussed in the conclusions.