HOMOTHERIUM AS A DINOSAUR

[darren.naish@port.ac.uk]

The scimitar-toothed cat _Homotherium latidens_ was first 
named in 1846 by Richard Owen for teeth discovered at 
Kent's Cavern, Devon (England), though Owen initially 
referred the species to _Machairodus_. We know today that 
teeth described by Cuvier in 1824, and thought by him to 
belong to a bear, are also _Homotherium_ teeth. 

I have encountered a few popular sources which state that 
other homothere teeth discovered before 1846 were also 
described and were also misidentified, but this time as the 
teeth of theropods. 

This isn't discussed in any of the homothere literature to my 
knowledge and I am not aware of any early papers on 
dinosaur teeth which feature teeth that look like those of 
_Homotherium_. Presumably the teeth concerned are the 
laterally flattened, serrated canines, and presumably they are 
misidentified somewhere as belonging to _Megalosaurus_.

Can anyone help?

-- 
Darren Naish
School of Earth & Environmental Sciences
University of Portsmouth UK, PO1 3QL

email: darren.naish@port.ac.uk
tel: 023 92846045