432 G. I. Adams — Extinct Felidce of North America. 



Nomenclature and Synonyms. 



The following short account of the history of the genus 

 Machcerodus may not be out of place here, since this genus 

 gives its name to a subfamily and its priority seems to be some- 

 what questioned. 



Isolated teeth were first noticed by Cuvier in 1824, to whom 

 specimens discovered in the Yald' Arno were exhibited by 

 Nesti. From evidence relative to their association with re- 

 mains of Ursus, Cuvier was induced to refer them to that 

 genus under the name Ursus cultridens (Supplement to Ossa- 

 mens Fossiles, vol. v, Ft. ii, p. 517). The first description is 

 due to Nesti, according to M. de Blainville, who cites his 

 " Lettera terza dei alcune ossa fossile non peranco descritte al 

 Sogn. Prof. Pali Savi, Pisa, 1826," in which the name Ursus 

 trepanodon is used, whence later the genus Drepanodon, from 

 the species name trepanodon, was evidently made. Later M. 

 Bravard described Fells meganteron (now known as Machcero- 

 dus meganteron) and conjecturally restored a portion of a 

 skull by adding to it a canine of the character previously 

 described as Ursus cultridens, referring it to the genus Felis 

 under the specific name cultridens proposed by Cuvier (Mono- 

 graph de deux Felis, p. 143, 1828). Kaup in Description 

 d'Ossemens fossiles der Museum de Darmstadt, 1833, laid 

 stress on the differences which the falciform canines present as 

 compared with known bears and felines, pointing out their dif- 

 ferences from the teeth of other carnivores in the curved form 

 and denticulate margins and proposed a distinct genus, Ma- 

 chcerodus. An associated incisor he referred to a new genus 

 Agnotherium, not recognizing that it probably belonged to the 

 same individual. The real affinities had been recognized by 

 Bravard, but Kaup was the first to propose a generic name for 

 this type of dentition. 



In De Blainville's Osteographie, under a description of Felis 

 meganteron {Machcerodus mega?itero?i), a very full discussion is 

 given in which he presses Bravard's claims. Pomel has also 

 sought to substitute the species name meganteron for Kaup's 

 Machcerodus. Finally Bronn in Lethea G-eonostica has at- 

 tempted to combine Smilodon Lund, and Machcerodus Kanp 

 under the generic name Drepanodon, using testis' species 

 name. 



The first Machserodont fossil found in North America was 

 described by Leidy and Owen as Machcerodus primcevus. 

 Later Leidy used for this species the generic name Drepanodon. 

 Likewise Cope first described species under this genus Machcer- 

 odus. Later, however, he removed them all to new genera. 

 In referring to European species he used the genus Drepanodon 



