Editing Dinofelis (section)

==Classification==
The phylogenetic status of ''Dinofelis'' within [[Machairodontinae]] has been difficult to ascertain historically, and various positions within [[Felidae]] have been proposed for the genus.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Potapova |first1=E. G. |last2=Lavrov |first2=A. V. |title=Morphology of the auditory region of the skull in Dinofelis sp. (Felidae, Canivora) |journal=Paleontological Journal |date=2015 |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=190–199 |doi=10.1134/S0031030115020082|bibcode=2015PalJ...49..190P |s2cid=83550140 }}</ref> It has commonly been recovered as belonging to the tribe [[Metailurini]],<ref name="Werdelin2001"/><ref name=SmallDinofelis/> although one recent analysis contested the monophyly of Metailurini, placing ''Dinofelis'' as a sister taxon to ''[[Rhizosmilodon]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jiangzuo |first1=Qigao |last2=Werdelin |first2=Lars |last3=Sun |first3=Yuanlin |title=A dwarf sabertooth cat (Felidae: Machairodontinae) from Shanxi, China, and the phylogeny of the sabertooth tribe Machairodontini |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |date=15 May 2022 |volume=284 |pages=107517 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107517 |bibcode=2022QSRv..28407517J |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379122001482 |issn=0277-3791}}</ref>

A number of species are currently accepted in the genus:<ref name="Werdelin2001"/>
* ''Dinofelis aronoki'': It lived in the [[Villafranchian]] and Biharian stage in [[Kenya]] and [[Ethiopia]]. Recently split from ''D. barlowi'', it is the largest known species of ''Dinofelis''.
* ''Dinofelis barlowi'': It lived from the late Pliocene to the early Pleistocene. Geographically, found in [[Europe]], [[North America]] and [[Asia]] but mainly in [[Africa]]. It was 70&nbsp;cm high, probably the smallest species of ''Dinofelis''.
* ''Dinofelis cristata'': Known from [[China]], this species is especially convergent with the genus ''[[Panthera]]'' in its skull and particularly canine morphology, suggesting more pantherine-like hunting behaviour than other machairodonts. (Includes ''D. abeli''.)
* ''Dinofelis darti'': It lived in South Africa during the Villafranchian stage.
* ''Dinofelis diastemata'': This species is known from the early Pliocene of Europe.
* ''Dinofelis paleoonca'': Its type locality is Meade's Quarry 11, which is in a Blancan terrestrial horizon in the Blanco Formation of Texas.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=G. E. Meade |date=1945 |title=The Blanco Fauna |journal=University of Texas Publication |volume=4401 |pages=509–556}}</ref> It was recombined as ''Dinofelis palaeoonca'' by Kurten (1972), Hemmer (1973), Dalquest (1975), Kurten and Anderson (1980), Schultz (1990) and Werdelin and Lewis (2001).
* ''Dinofelis petteri'': Known from the Pliocene of East Africa
* ''Dinofelis piveteaui'': The latest known species of ''Dinofelis'', lived in South Africa during the early Pleistocene. This species has the most pronounced sabertoothed adaptations of the genus.
* ''Dinofelis werdelini'': Known from Langebaanweg in Africa, from the Pliocene.<ref name="Jiangzuo2023">{{Cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.isci.2023.107212 |title=Langebaanweg's sabertooth guild reveals an African Pliocene evolutionary hotspot for sabertooths (Carnivora; Felidae) |year=2023 |last1=Jiangzuo |first1=Qigao |last2=Rabe |first2=Caitlin |last3=Abella |first3=Juan |last4=Govender |first4=Romala |last5=Valenciano |first5=Alberto |journal=iScience |volume=26 |issue=8 |page=107212 |pmid=37609637 |pmc=10440717 |bibcode=2023iSci...26j7212J |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Additional fossils from Lothagam (specifically the [[Nawata Formation]] and the [[Apak Member]] of the [[Nachukui Formation]]) are considered to represent another, unnamed species; one smaller and more primitive than other known species.<ref name="Werdelin2001"/>

A major review of ''Dinofelis'' by Werdelin ''et al.'' in 2001 produced a cladogram of its species:<ref name="Werdelin2001"/>

{{clade |style=font-size:100%;line-height:100%;
  |label1='''''Dinofelis'''''
  |1={{clade
     |1=''Dinofelis'' sp. (Lothagam)
     |2={{clade
        |1=''Dinofelis diastemata''
        |2={{clade
           |1=''Dinofelis cristata''
           |2={{clade
              |1=''Dinofelis petteri''
              |2=''Dinofelis barlowi''
              }}
           |3=''Dinofelis palaeoonca''
           }}
        |3={{clade
           |1=''Dinofelis aronoki''
           |2=''Dinofelis piveteaui''
           }}
        }}
     }}
}}

The 2023 paper that named ''D. werdelini'' found it to be a sister to a clade formed by ''D. cristatus'', ''D. petteri'', ''D. piveteaui'', and ''D. barlowi'', but did not test it against the rest of the genus.<ref name="Jiangzuo2023"/>

{{clade |style=font-size:100%;line-height:100%;
  |label1='''''Dinofelis'''''
  |1={{clade
     |1=''Dinofelis werdelini''
     |2={{clade
        |1=''Dinofelis cristatus''
        |2={{clade
           |1=''Dinofelis piveteaui''
           |2={{clade
              |1=''Dinofelis barlowi''
              |2=''Dinofelis petteri''
              }}
           }}
        }}
     }}
}}

''Dinofelis''{{'}} position amongst the Metailurini per a 2018 phylogenetic analysis:<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.01.034 |title=Evolution of the sabertooth mandible: A deadly ecomorphological specialization |date=2018 |last1=Piras |first1=Paolo |last2=Silvestro |first2=Daniele |last3=Carotenuto |first3=Francesco |last4=Castiglione |first4=Silvia |last5=Kotsakis |first5=Anastassios |last6=Maiorino |first6=Leonardo |last7=Melchionna |first7=Marina |last8=Mondanaro |first8=Alessandro |last9=Sansalone |first9=Gabriele |last10=Serio |first10=Carmela |last11=Vero |first11=Veronica Anna |last12=Raia |first12=Pasquale |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |volume=496 |pages=166–174 |bibcode=2018PPP...496..166P |hdl=2158/1268434 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

{{clade
|label1=[[Metailurini]]
|1={{clade
  |1=''[[Fortunictis]] acerensis''
  |2=''[[Adelphailurus]] kansensis''
  |3=''[[Stenailurus]] tielhardi''
  |4={{clade
     |1=''[[Metailurus]] mongoliensis''
     |2=''Metailurus hengduanshanensis''
     |3=''Metailurus obscurus''
     |4=''Metailurus major''
     |5={{clade
        |1=''[[Yoshi (genus)|Yoshi]] minor''
        |2=''Yoshi garevskii''
        }}
      }}
  |label5='''''Dinofelis'''''
  |5={{clade
     |1=''Dinofelis diastemata''
     |2={{clade
        |1=''Dinofelis darti''
        |2={{clade
           |1=''Dinofelis piveteaui''
           |2=''Dinofelis aronoki''
           }}
        |3=''Dinofelis barlowi''
        |4=''Dinofelis petteri''
        |5=''Dinofelis paleoonca''
        |6=''Dinofelis cristata''
        }}
     }}
  }}
}}