Fast Facts
- Type: Machairodont
- Diet: Carnivore.
- Size: About 60-90 high at the shoulder, and around 2-2.4 meters long.
- Protection status: Extinct
- One of the lesser known machairodonts, the placement of Adelphailurus within the machairodontinae has been questioned with speculation that it may be a false sabre-tooth. Adelphailurus also had a pair of second premolar teeth, a primitive feature that harks back to the early days of felid evolution. Although fossil remains ofAdelphailurus are usually very incomplete, they have been noted as being very similar to the modern Puma concolor (a.k.a. cougar/mountain lion) in both physical proportion and size. This in turn has led to speculation that back in the late Miocene, Adelphailurus may have had a similar ecological niche as today’s Puma concolor.