Eusmilus

Eusmilus Temporal range: Late Eocene to Early Oligocene, 37.2–28.4 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Synapsida
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	†Nimravidae
Subfamily:	†Hoplophoninae
Genus:	†Eusmilus
Type species
Eusmilus bidentatus (Filhol, 1873)
Species
†Eusmilus bidentatus (Filhol, 1873) (type) †Eusmilus villebramarensis Peigné and Brunet, 2003

Eusmilus ('true sabre') is a prehistoric genus of nimravid that lived in Europe during the Late Eocene to Early Oligocene epochs (37.2—28.4 mya).

Taxonomy

There are two valid species of Eusmilus, E. bidentatus and E. villebramarensis. Ekgmoiteptecela MacDonald, 1963 was synonymized with Eusmilus by some authors, but is actually synonymous with Hoplophoneus.

Morphology

Eusmilus had a long body and was about as tall as a leopard. It had developed long saber teeth and looked like a saber-toothed cat, but was actually a so-called 'false saber-tooth'. Most were leopard-sized and rather long-bodied and short-legged compared to modern leopards. Some reached 2.5 metres (8 ft) long. Eusmilus had lost many other teeth, possessing only 26 instead of the 44 usually seen in carnivore mammals. Its mouth could open to an angle of 90 degrees, allowing the creature to properly use its saber teeth. Bony flanges projected from Eusmilus ' lower jaw to protect the sabers (this is also seen in the unrelated marsupial Thylacosmilus and felid Megantereon). There is fossil evidence of conflict between Eusmilus and Nimravus, another genus of nimravid.