A paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History has uncovered a long-overdue revelation: a complete skull of an ancient saber-toothed cat species, Adelphailurus kansensis, that had been mislabeled for over 50 years.
Nariman Chatar, the researcher who made the discovery while cataloging the museum’s collections, initially noticed a skull marked with the name Pseudaelurus—a common placeholder for unidentified feline fossils. Through meticulous 3D scanning and comparative analysis against known models, Chatar confirmed it belonged to Adelphailurus kansensis.
This species, which roamed North America more than five million years ago, was previously documented solely through fragmented jaw bones and teeth. The newly identified skull, comparable in size to a modern cougar, represents an earlier evolutionary stage of saber-toothed cats. Unlike its more famous descendant Smilodon, which possessed fangs up to 20 centimeters long, Adelphailurus kansensis had relatively short upper canines.
“I took a 3D model of the sample and compared it against other models on a different screen,” Chatar explained in the study. “It was clear this skull didn’t match any known species.”
The specimen had been stored in museum vaults for approximately 50 to 60 years under an incorrect label, underscoring the critical need to re-examine historical collections. Scientists note that archival funds enabled the first reconstruction of this ancient predator’s appearance. However, its complete anatomy remains a mystery—partly because missing skeletal bones may still be hidden in other museum collections under wrong labels.
