Scimitar cat (Homotherium serum Cope) from southwestern Alberta, Canada

Abstract

Skull and tooth fragments of Homotherium serum recently recovered from the Wally’s Beach site (DhPg-8) in southwestern Alberta provide the first indications that scimitar cat populated the area of the St. Mary Reservoir. Accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating provides a calibrated age (2σ) of 12 715 – 12 655 cal. years BP. This is the fourth known occurrence of the species in Canada, the first outside of Yukon, and currently the youngest precisely dated occurrence of the species in North America. Well-preserved dentition combined with the temporal and geographic context allows the sample to be identified as H. serum. The specimen is significant as it represents an extension of the geographic and chronological range of the species.