Scientific Name: Panthera tigris sondaica

Average Weight:

Female: 75-115kg (165 - 253 pounds)

Male: 100-141kg (220 - 310 pounds)

Size (Length):

Female: Unknown

Male: 2480mm (8'-3")

The Javan Tiger was quite similar in appearance to the still existing Sumatran tiger, but had numerous darker and closer-set black stripes. Striping on the flanks and back was often double-looped. This dense pattern of stripes was characteristic for this subspecies. This subspecies was also notable for their cheek whiskers that were the longest of any of the subspecies. (Van den Hoek Ostende. 1999)

Range & Habitat The Javan tiger occurred on the Indonesian island of Java.

History & Population The oldest tiger fossils from Java date from 1.2 million years ago. This prehistoric tiger, Panthera tigris trinilensis, was found at the locality of Trinil, which also yielded the oldest human remains of the island, the famous Java-man. The tiger fossils, reckoned among the oldest in the world, are now stored in the Dubois Collection of the National Museum of Natural History in Leiden, the Netherlands. Although these fossils have been found on Java, they probably do not belong to a direct ancestor of the Javan tiger. During the Ice Ages the larger Indonesian islands were regularly connected to the mainland, which allowed faunal exchanges. The last time such immigration occurred was during the late Pleistocene, some 50.000 years ago. Tigers, which probably migrated from China, reached Java again. As the sea level rose, the tiger population became isolated and finally developed into the Javan subspecies. (Van den Hoek Ostende. 1999)In the early 19th century Javan tigers were so common all over Java, that in some areas they were considered nothing more than pests. As the human population rapid increased, large parts of the island were cultivated, leading inevitably to a severe reduction of their natural habitat. Wherever man moved in, the Javan tigers were ruthlessly hunted down or poisoned. The Javan tiger experienced growing competition for prey species with wild dogs and leopards. Natives carried much of the hunting out, a surprising thing since they considered the tiger a reincarnation of their dead relatives. By 1940, tigers had become restricted to remote mountain ranges and forests. In the mid-1950s only 20-25 Javan tigers remained on Java. During the 1960s the Javan tiger even disappeared from the famous Ujung Kulon reserve on the western tip of Java, where nowadays the last Javan rhinoceroses live. The last stronghold of the Javan tiger was a rugged area in southeastern Java, known as Meru-Betiri, which had become a game reserve in 1972. It was considered this tiger's last chance for survival. However, even it was declared a reserve, the area was under attack by agricultural development. A track count revealed that in 1979 at most three Javan tigers where still living there. The Javan tiger has not been seen or tracked since. The exact time of extinction remains unknown, but this subspecies must have become extinct in the early 1980s. (Van den Hoek Ostende. 1999)Occasional reports still surface of few tigers to be found in East Java. Meri-Betiri National Park, the least accessible area of the island, is located here and considered the most likely area for any remaining Javan tigers. Despite the continuing claims of sightings it is far more likely that the Javan tiger has become extinct. The 'tigers' are quite likely to be leopards seen from a distance.Some agencies are carrying out experiments using infrared activated remote cameras in an effort to photograph any tigers. Authorities are even prepared to initiate the move of several thousand natives should tiger protection require this. But until concrete evidence can be produced, the Javan tiger must be considered yet another subspecies of the tiger to be extinct and lost forever.

Extinction Causes The Javan tigers were driven to extinction though a rapid increase in human population leading inevitably to a severe reduction in habitat for the tigers, which e.g. resulted in growing competition for prey species with wild dogs and leopards. Forests were felled and than converted for agricultural use. The Javan tigers were also merciless hunted and poisoned

Artist’s depiction of scimitar-toothed cats chasing down an ancient horse. Illustration: Velizar Simeonovski/University of Copenhagen

Suborder: Feliformia

Family: Felidae

Subfamily: Machairodontinae

Tribe: Homotherini

Genus: Homotherium

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.But unlike lions these cats had longer front legs, and could easily run and leap upon prey. In fact, scimitar-toothed cats killed animals like young mammoths— larger than themselves— and dragged them into the cave. Homotherium (also known as the scimitar-toothed cat or scimitar cat) 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 – 12,000 years ago), 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. In South America it is only known from a few remains in the northern region (Venezuela),from the mid-Pleistocene.

The name Homotherium was proposed by Emilio Fabrini (1890), without further explanation, for a new subgenus of Machairodus, whose main distinguishing feature was the presence of a large diastema between the two inferior premolars.

Oh, in case you’re wondering, “saber-toothed cats” is a kind of colloquial catch-all term used to describe extinct predatory felids with long canines that protruded from their mouths even when their jaws were closed. The more technical term for this group is Machairodontinae, a now-extinct subfamily of Felidae. And no, we don’t call them “saber-toothed tigers” anymore, because they weren’t actually tigers.

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Carnivora

Suborder: Feliformia

Family: Felidae

Subfamily: Machairodontinae

Tribe: Machairodontini

Machairodus was a genus of large machairodontine saber-toothed cat that lived in Eurasia during the Miocene. It is the animal from which the family Machairodontidae gets its name and has since become a wastebasket taxon over the years as many genera of sabertooth cat have been and are still occasionally lumped into it.

-Discovery-

Machairodus was first named in 1832, by German Naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup. Though its remains were known since 1824, it was believed by Georges Cuvier that the fossils had come from a species of bear, which he called "Ursus cultridens" (known today as Megantereon) based on composite sample of teeth from different countries, species and geologic ages, leading to what would become a long series of complications. Kaup however, recognized the teeth as those of felids and promptly reclassified the existing specimens as Machairodus, including M. cultridens in it. The name quickly gained acceptance and by the end of the 19th Century,many species of felid or related feliform (such as nimravids) were lumped into the genus Machairodus, including but not limited to Sansanosmilus, Megantereon, Paramachairodus, Amphimachairodus, Nimravides, and Homotherium among others. This would eventually turn Machairodus into something of a wastebasket taxon, which would be rectified with the discoveries of more complete skeletons of other machairodonts.

-Description-

Machairodus was similar in size to a modern lion, standing about 1 m (3.3 feet) at the shoulder. The species Machairodus horribilis, which stands as the largest known species of the genus, is comparable in size to the much later Smilodon populator, weighing in at around 404.6 kg (892 pounds). Its skull, measuring upwards of 16 in (41 centimeters) in length, is the largest known skull for any machairodont and one of the largest skulls of any cat.

The skull of Machairodus was noticeably narrow compared with the skulls of extant pantherine cats, and the orbits were relatively small. The canines were long, thin and flattened from side to side but broad from front to back like the blade of a knife, as in Homotherium. The front and back edges of the canines were serrated when they first grew, but these serrations were worn down in the first few years of the animal's life.

Machairodus was about 2 meters (6.6 feet) long and probably hunted as an ambush predator. Its legs were too short to sustain a long chase, so it most likely was a good jumper, and used its canines to cut open the throat of its prey. Its teeth were rooted to its mouth and were not too delicate, unlike most saber-toothed cats of the time, which had extremely long canines which hung out of their mouths. The fangs of Machairodus, however, were able to more easily fit in its mouth comfortably while being long and effective for hunting. Despite its great size, the largest example of Machairodus, M. horribilis was better equipped to hunt relatively smaller prey than Smilodon, as evidenced by its moderate jaw gape of 70 degrees, similar to the gape of a modern lion.

-Species-

The fossil species assigned to the genus Machairodus were divided by Turner into two grades of evolutionary development - M. aphanistus and the North American "Nimravides" catacopis representing the more primitive grade, and M. coloradensis and M. giganteus representing the more derived grade. The characteristics of the more advanced grade include a relative elongation of the forearm and a shortening of the lumbar region of the spine to resemble that in living pantherine cats. The more derived forms once assigned to the genus were assigned a new genus, Amphimachairodus, which includes M. coloradensis, M. kurteni and M. giganteus. In addition, M. catacopsis was reclassified as N. catacopsis.

Prehistoric: Mid-Pleistocene

Class: Mammalia

Family: Felidae

Felis Atrox Apperas to have been a lion that once roamed the continent of North America. What`s more, it was one one - third larger then any modern species of lion.They stood taller than 4 feet at shoulder,had a broad muzzle, and legs longer than those of modern-day lions. Fossil remains show that the shape of its skull was similar much like that of modern-day lion, and that the Felis Atrox had similar teeth,mane, and long tail. This fierce meat-eating predator fed on camels,horses,bison, and other grazing animals,Because of its size,Felis Atrox is believed to have been able to run down these animals,rather then pounce on and cling to them in the manner of modern-day lions.Most of the large cats, including the African lion, tiger and European cave lion, are now assigned to the genus Panthera. Some modern authorities also consider Panthera atrox to be a subspecies of the African lion (Panthera leo atrox).

In 1853, Leidy found an interesting specimen in a collection of mammal fossils donated by the American Philosophical Society an donated to The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. The specimen was a fragment of the lower left jaw which contained four teeth (three molars and a canine). Leidy identified the fossil as that of very large cat. In fact, it was larger than the extinct European cave lion, which until then had been the largest known member of cat family. He named the new animal Felis atrox.

Felis Atrox ranged through North America from Alaska into Mexico and as far east as the Mississippi River. Scientists believe it lived through the ice age untill about 8,000 years ago. That this Big Cat roamed the Western Mountains is known by the numbers of its bones found there. Probably it lived in the heights and charged down to the plains where herds of its prey grazed. Remains of the Felis Atrox have also been found in the California`s famed La Brea Tar Pits. It was a true King of the Beasts in Prehistoric North America

Characteristics: Extinct, One third larger than a modern-day lion but with longers legs and a broader muzle,Had a mane and a long tail, preyed on grazing animals.