page_title: Homotherium
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Homotherium / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Homotherium serum life-restorationČeština: Homotherium serum - porovnání s člověkem
context_page_description: Homotherium is an extinct genus of machairodontine saber-toothed cats, often termed scimitar-toothed cats, that inhabited North America, South America, Eurasia, and Africa during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs, existing for approximately 4 million years.
  It became extinct in Africa some 1.5 million years ago. The most recent Eurasian remains, recovered from what is now the North Sea, have been dated to around 28,000 years BP. In South America it is only known from a few remains in the northern region, from the mid-Pleistocene.
context_section_description: Homotherium reached 1.1 m (3 ft 7 in) at the shoulder and weighed an estimated 190 kg (420 lb) and was therefore about the size of a male African lion. Compared to more familiar machairodonts, like Smilodon or Megantereon, Homotherium had comparatively shorter upper canines, but these flat, serrated teeth were still longer than those of any living cat. Homotheirum's incisors and lower canines formed a powerful puncturing and gripping device; among living cats, only the tiger (Panthera tigris) has such large incisors, which aid in lifting and carrying prey. The molars of Homotherium were rather weak and not adapted for bone crushing. The skull was longer than in Smilodon and had a well-developed crest, where muscles were attached to power the lower jaw. This jaw had down-turned forward flanges to protect the scimitars. Its large canine teeth were crenulated and designed for slashing rather than purely stabbing.
  Homotherium had the general appearance of a cat, but had a number of atypical features for a felid. Homotherium had unusual limb proportions, with longer, more robust forelimbs that gave it a hyena-like appearance. The hind quarters were rather squat with feet that may have been partially plantigrade, causing the back to slope towards the short tail. Features of the hind limbs indicate that this cat was moderately capable of leaping. The pelvic region, including the sacral vertebrae, was bear-like, as was the short tail composed of 13 vertebrae—about half the number of long-tailed cats'.
   
  The unusually large, square nasal opening, similar to that of the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), presumably allowed faster oxygen intake, which would have aided in rapid or extended running and in cooling the brain. Again similarly to the cheetah, the visual cortex in Homotherium's brain was large and complex, implying that the scimitar cat relied heavily on vision during the hunt.
  Based on Homotherium's preference for open habitat such as plains and comparisons with modern cats, it is considered likely by ethologist William Allen et al that Homotherium would have been plainly colored like lions to better camouflage itself.
caption: H. serum size comparison
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