SOUTH DAKOTA

Details

A SABER-TOOTHED CAT
SOUTH DAKOTA
The Dinictis felina from the Brule Formation, Oligocene (34-30 milllion years ago) with finely preserved skull and partially composite skeleton supported on custom iron frame in dynamic pose atop wooden base.
60 x 51 x 30in. (152 x 130 x 76cm.)

Provenance

Collected from private land in South Dakota, 2017

Special notice

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Brought to you by

James Hyslop

jhyslop@christies.com +44 (0)20 7752 3205

Lot Essay

Similar in appearance, although not related to Smilodon (the saber-toothed tiger) Dinictis evolved parallel to them and lived as an apex predator in a similar manner on the plains of ancient North America, and are correctly term "false saber-toothed cats" as their fierce teeth are not quite as large. Part of an extinct family of carnivores the Nimravidae they were not true-cats and walked flat-footed, perhaps as the modern leopard. Their remains are much rarer than the other fauna of the Brule formation upon which they predated.

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