This is the skull of the sabrecat Hoplophoneus primaevus.
This cat-like carnivore lived in what is now South Dakota in the Oligocene Epoch, about 33 million years ago. The size of a modern leopard and with strong neck and legs, dagger like upper canine teeth and highly developed retractable claws, Hoplophoneus would have been a formidable predator. Its prey would have included the horses and rhinoceroses of the time.
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