Hoplophoneus
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iHoplophoneus |
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Hoplophoneus mentalis
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Fossil
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Hoplophoneus is an extinct genus of mammal lived during the late Oligocene (33 - 30.5 million years ago), some 20 million years before Smilodon. Some earlier authors erroneously place Hoplophoneus among the Felidae (true cats) as the ancestor of Smilodon and true Saber-toothed cat, but current fossil evidence indicates that Hoplophoneus and Smilodon are from different evolutionary lines. Some were the size of bobcats while others were jaguar-sized. Like many other Nimravids, Hoplophoneous had a bony flange into which its curved canines fit.