Dinictis felina
Oligocene
John Day Formation – Turtle Cove Member
Picture Gorge, Oregon, USA

Outstanding 210mm complete skull from a very rarely sampled locality. First we have ever seen from Oregon.

Dinictis is an extinct genus of carnivorous mammals found from the Late Eocene to the Early Oligocene belonging to the family Nimravidae, commonly referred to as “false saber-toothed cats.” Despite their appearance, they were not true cats (family Felidae), but an earlier, cat-like lineage. Roughly comparable to a modern lynx or small cougar, with a long, low body, short legs, and a flexible spine adapted for ambush predation.

Although Dinictis looked cat-like, it branched off before the evolution of true cats. Nimravids such as Dinictis are an example of convergent evolution, where unrelated groups evolve similar body forms due to similar ecological roles.