Melanistic dinofelis drinking
Africa, beginning of the Pleistocene.
Night falls and the first stars begin to dot the amethyst sky, while the sun casts its last rays on a Marabou patrolling the grass in search of food.
In the stillness of the evening a large dark spot approaches the pool of water, crouches down and begins to drink.
Our Holocene eyes might think they’re looking at a large jaguar, but it’s not actually a panther.
It is a Dinofelis, a saber-toothed feline (macairodontine), which lived between 5 and 1.2 million years ago.
Dinofelis was a rather varied genus in size and widely distributed (Africa, Asia, Europe and America).
It is mainly known for having been a great predator of hominids, but in reality it is more probable that “our ancestors” were only occasional preys and that the first choice were medium-large sized ungulates. In contrast to Megantereon which, based on the carbon isotopes found in its teeth, seems to have had a soft spot for hominids, a bit like leopards today have it for primates.
Year: 2021
Client: Simone Zoccante / Diorama Nature
Software: Adobe Photoshop
Dimension (for Print): 50 x 50 cm @ 300 dpi
Dimension (in Pixel): 5906 x 5906 px
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All images Β© Simone Zoccante 2018-2023. Please do not reproduce without the expressed written consent of Simone Zoccante.