Chasmaporthetes

Chasmaporthetes was named (from chasm and the Greek (), "destroyer, ravager") by Hay (1921), who noted that the name meant that the North American species, Chasmaporthetes ossifragus (the type species) possibly saw the beginning of the Grand Canyon. Species ) At least nine species are currently recognised: • Chasmaporthetes ossifragus Hay, 1921 - North America, Pliocene to Pleistocene • C. australis Hendey, 1974 - Africa, Late Miocene • C. bonisi Koufos, 1987 - Greece, Late Miocene • C. borissiaki Khomenko, 1932 - Russia, Pliocene (disputed) • C. exitelus Kurtén & Werdelin, 1988 - China, Late Miocene • C. gangsriensis Tseng, Li, & Wang, 2013 - Asia, Early Pliocene • C. lunensis Del Campana, 1914 - Eurasia, Late Miocene to Early Pleistocene • C. melei Rook et al, 2004 - Sardinia, Early Pleistocene • C. nitidula Geraads, 1997 - Africa, Pliocene to Early Pleistocene ==Anatomy and paleoecology==

The limb bones of Chasmaporthetes were long and slender like those of cheetahs. It likely inhabited open ground and was a daytime hunter. It may have preyed on the small Bourbon gazelle (Gazella borbonica) and the chamois antelope (Procamptoceras brivatense), and competed with the giant cheetah (Acinonyx pardinensis). The North American C. ossifragus was similar in build to C. lunensis, but had slightly more robust jaws and teeth. It may have preyed on the giant marmot Paenemarmota, The cheek teeth of Chasmaporthetes were slender and sharp-edged like those of felids. A study on the genus' premolar intercuspid notches indicated Chasmaporthetes was likely hypercarnivorous rather than durophagous as its modern cousins (excluding the aardwolf) are. The microstructure of the enamel of C. lunensis lunensis consists of more gently folding enamel than that found in bone-crushing hyaenids, further supporting the notion that it was not a specialist osteophage. Dental microwear of C. australis from Langebaanweg in South Africa shows that the species was hypercarnivorous and rarely engaged in durophagy; its dental microwear was similar to the modern lion, which seldom consumes bone. ==References==