I was just boppin’ along with the Pseudaelurus post — then I unexpectedly found information on a whole nest of various early cats in Africa.

We’re following Antón’s Sabertooth and he did not mention these kitties (which probably either have been described since that book came out or else weren’t notably sabertoothed, though that’s going to take a little more reading to pin down).

There are two reasons why I can’t ignore the African cats:

1. Beside human uncertainty, this last Friday post on sabercats (but not on sabertooths) asks the question: where did sabercats come from? This requires a look at ALL the known early to middle Miocene cats that I can find who weren’t Proailurus.

   I have just discovered that this group includes more than Pseudaelurus in Eurasia and Hyperailurictis in North America. 😎



2. At least two sabertooths DID come from Africa: Dinofelis and the Miocene barbourofelids, which we’re going to meet next. The Wikipedia article on one of these new (to me) early Miocene cats raises issues about possible connections of some sort that need to be explored a little further via Google Scholar, even though we won’t be wandering far from Antón overall.

This isn’t going to be a major project, but it likely will extend things over the weekend. Expect the post when you see it!

And to maintain the contrast between cats and dogs, the next AKC Saturday post will be delayed, too.