Research overview: Dinofelis, the false sabertooth of the African Pliocene

This overview examines Dinofelis, a leopard-to-jaguar-sized cat of the Pliocene and early Pleistocene placed among the Metailurini, whose moderately enlarged, flattened canines mark it as an intermediate or false sabertooth. Known from Africa, Eurasia, and North America, Dinofelis is especially prominent in African fossil sites that also yield early hominins, fueling long-standing speculation about predator-prey or competitive relationships between this cat and our ancestors. The survey reviews its anatomy and likely ambush habits in wooded or riverine settings, its place within the debated Metailurini, and the evidence and controversy surrounding the idea that Dinofelis preyed on early hominins. It situates the genus within the broader diversity of cats that experimented with the sabertooth form.