Local paleontologists announce discovery of new San Diego saber-toothed catlike species

Paleontologist Ashley Poust, a post-doctoral researcher at San Diego Natural History Museum, holds the 42-million-year-old fossilized jawbone of the newly discovered Diegoaelurus, or “San Diego’s cat.” For comparison, behind him is the skull of the much-larger Smilodon or saber-toothed cat from the more recent Pleistocene era. A newly discovered saber-toothed catlike predator that hunted in the forests and coastal areas of this region 42 million years ago has been given the name Diegoaelurus, or “San Diego’s cat,” the San Diego Natural History Museum announced Tuesday, March 15.

The discovery of Diegoaelurus — which is now the earliest known cat-like predator in North America west of the Rocky Mountains — was unveiled this morning in Peerj, an international open-access science journal. The discovery was described in a research paper co-written by Ashley Poust, the museum’s postdoctoral researcher, Shawn Zack at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and fellow San Diego […]

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