Paramachaerodus fossil map
Where fossils of Paramachaerodus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 5 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 5 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 23.04–0.774 million years ago (Aquitanian to Calabrian) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Felidae |
| Named by | Pilgrim 1913 |
| Fossil records | 32 occurrences at 15 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | China, Greece, Spain, Moldova, Ukraine, Türkiye, United States, Bulgaria, Kyrgyzstan |
| Rock formations | txn:41045, Venta del Moro-Villatoya, Yatagan, Bidahochi, Gonia, Chu |
About Paramachaerodus
Paramachaerodus is an extinct genus of saber-tooth cat of the subfamily Machairodontinae, which was endemic to Eurasia during the Middle and Late Miocene from 15 to 9 Ma. A 2022 phylogenetic analysis suggested that the genus may be polyphyletic.
Paramacherodus is one of the earliest known true saber-toothed cats. Many fossils were discovered in Cerro de los Batallones, a Late Miocene fossil site near Madrid, Spain. One leopard-sized species is known, Paramachaerodus orientalis from the Turolian. A second species, Paramacharodus maximiliani, has been considered a synonym of Paramachaerodus orientalis by some authors, but was considered a valid species in the most recent systematic revision. That revision, based on an extensive morphological analysis, also determined that the species P. ogygia exhibited less derived sabertooth features than the other Paramachaerodus species and should be assigned to a separate genus, Promegantereon.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Paramachaerodus (revision 1327662333), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q2051668.
