|
 Skeleton of a sabretoohed cat at La Brea Tar Pits Museum, Los Angeles. Wikimedia Commons.
Palaeontologists can derive surprisingly many details about the life history and behaviour of extinct animals based solely on the morphology of their skeleton. In a new study published in PLoS One, the Danish scientist Per Christiansen from the Zoological Museum of Copenhagen investigated predatory behaviour in the extinct sabretoohed cats.
The skulls of Sabretoothed cats are very different from that of extant cats. The most immediate is of course their massively enlarged upper canines, but they also differ in several other morphological parameters. Christiansen used measurements of the jaw and the skull to estimate the size of the attached muscles from which he could estimate total bite force and maximum gaping angle.
He found that sabretooth cats had a significantly weaker bite than modern cats especially in the more highly evolved sabretooth cats. In contrast they were capable of delivering precise bites with the jaws much more open than modern cats.
Theoretical analyses show that biting force and gaping angle are reciprocal. If an animal wants to bite hard it must be content with only low or moderate gaping abilities.
Thus, Sabretoothed cats probably evolved to kill prey by using their long canines to sever nerves and blood vessels in the throat of their prey where as modern cats suffocate their prey by biting hard into the throat and thereby cutting off air supply.
Source:
Christiansen P (2008) Evolution of Skull and Mandible Shape in Cats (Carnivora: Felidae). PLoS ONE 3(7): e2807. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002807
 Add as favourites (8) |  Quote this article on your site | Views: 274 | E-mail
Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition |
