Burdur:A fossil that has been housed in a museum in southwestern T¼rkiye for decades has been identified as the remains of a saber-toothed cat that existed approximately 2.5 million years ago. Researchers have confirmed that the fossil, originating from near Yakak¶y village in 1989 and preserved at the Burdur Natural History Museum, is from Homotherium latidens, an extinct species of large predatory cat.

According to Anadolu Agency, the research team led by Alper Yener Yavuz, an associate professor of anthropology at Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, began examining the fossil in 2023. Their geological and anthropological analyses revealed that the specimen, noted for its largely intact jaw, is the most complete saber-toothed cat fossil identified in Anatolia, the Asian part of modern-day T¼rkiye.

The researchers dated the fossil to approximately 2.5 million years ago using geological and faunal dating methods. The animal was about 1.2 meters (4 feet) tall at the shoulder and measured roughly 2 meters (6.6 feet) from head to tail, making it slightly smaller than a modern lion but larger than a jaguar. Unlike ambush predators, this species was adapted for pursuing prey, featuring a wider nasal cavity for efficient oxygen intake while running.

Yavuz highlighted that, including their study, only four specimens of this kind are known in T¼rkiye to date. The research team is planning further field surveys in Burdur and the neighboring Isparta province to uncover more evidence of the region's prehistoric past.