Delayed eruption of the deciduous upper canine in the sabertoothed carnivoreBarbourofelis lovei(Carnivora, Nimravidae)

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Abstract
In Barbourofelis lovei, from the latest Clarendonian Love Bone Bed, Alachua County, Florida, the eruption of the deciduous upper canine was so delayed that it functioned not as part of the deciduous dentition, but as a “first” permanent canine. In an almost complete left juvenile maxilla with a heavily worn deciduous carnassial and a permanent carnassial that was starting to erupt, the developing crowns of both the deciduous and permanent canines are confined within alveoli and have not started to erupt. Other maxillary material and three juvenile mandibles provide supportive evidence. The late eruption of the deciduous canine is necessitated by its large size which approaches that of the permanent canine. B. lovei is also unusual in the timing and order of appearance of the incisors and the replacement of the upper carnassial. A moderately to extremely large dC1 and the delayed eruption of C1 are synapomorphies for members of the Nimravidae including Barbourofelis, and differentiate this group from the Felidae. The late eruption of dC1 in Barbourofelis suggests that an extended period of parental care was required in this species.