Talk:Saber-toothed cat
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There's still a few things I want to do with this page.
Most importantly, some of the genera in the table may be ancestral to one another - if that's the case then sabertoothed characteristics did NOT evolve independently in the younger genus. I would like to make that very clear. A pretty family tree would be nice, I think.
After that, I think I'll add entries on each of the genera in the table. That's the least I could do. ClockworkTroll 05:43, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC)
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[edit] Something to add later
- One of the most popular heterogeneous group comprising repeatedly evolved identical bauplan are sabre-toothed carnivores possessing blade-like, very long and slender upper canine teeth. Very similar sabretooths appeared at various times and various places during the approximately 50-million-year history. They occurred repeatedly and independently in at least four distinct mammalian groups: in completely extinct nimravids, hyaenodontid creodonts, thylacosmilid marsupials, as well as in modern felids. In every time they coexisted succeessfully with their short-canined relatives, and it seems to be a matter of chance that we have no sabretooth with us today (Radinsky and Emerson 1982).
The bolded information should be integrated into the article when possible. Maybe change article name to "saber-tooth" ?
ClockworkTroll 06:16, 16 Nov 2004 (UTC)
- "Saber-tooth" is good. The alternative is saber-toothed cat-like mammals or the equivalent, which is clumsy and a poor natural link. "Saber-toothed cat" should actually be a redirect to Machairodontinae, not a separate page describing the saber-toothed phenomenon, since that's probably what is intended when someone makes that link (I know I did).
- I also added an abbreviated cladogram; I think it makes it clearer how distantly related some of the saber-toothed mammals are from each other, both by showing and referring not just to when they existed, but when they diverged from their most recent common ancestor. Very incomplete at the moment.
- -Pat 05:08, 23 Dec 2004 (UTC)
[edit] Display
The wording If this is the case, it would support the theory that sabertooths were social animals, is misleading. Talk to a moose which has extraordinary display structure but are not social in the sense used here. If I can develop better wording I'll change it. 208.114.132.151 17:31, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
[edit] True cats?
This article does not clearly state if Saber-tooth cats are true cats nor does it state that Saber-tooth cat is a board term conposing many orders. Someone mind fixing this? 71.135.35.5 01:13, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
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- This article is completely nonsense in my eyes. Saber-toothed cats (Machairodontinae) are true cats (they belong to the family Felidae) but the false saber toothed cats, like Hoplophoneus , which are erroneously called saber-tooths in this article, belong to the family Nimravidae.--Altaileopard 22:06, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] no link to sabre?
Stange that in all the article no mention of what a sabre actually is. GraemeLeggett 16:33, 19 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] barbourofelidae
Barbourofelidae are no longer considered a sub-family of nimravidae and should be classified as a family of their own in the phylogeny section Laurence Browning 18:26, 3 February 2007 (UTC)
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- do you have sources for that? but we should probably discuss that at Talk:Nimravidae.--Altaileopard 22:09, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Nimravids are no Saber toothed cats
The Nimravidae are usually called false saber-toothed cats (not sabre toothed cats) and the sparassodonta should also not be called saber-tooths. That are the main reasons, why I would like to see this article deleted.--Altaileopard 22:03, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
- This is clearly a discussion of the saber-toothed phenomenon (not the cats per se), which is of both popular and scientific interest[1], and thus encyclopedic. Deletion is entirely inappropriate. The article is simply misnamed. "Cat" should be removed from the title, and the current title should redirect to Machairodontinae. —Pat 11:25, 25 March 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Dying human baby?
Yeah, that line in the first section about the cats having the face of a dying human baby seems to be...not true. And Jesus? Come on. edit: And it seems to already be gone. Never mind. —The preceding jonboy8871 comment was added by 65.81.140.100 (talk) 16:29, 7 March 2007 (UTC).
