Seeing through the eyes of the sabertooth Thylacosmilus atrox (Metatheria, Sparassodonta)

Gaillard, Charlène; MacPhee, R. D. E.; Forasiepi, Analía M.

doi:10.1038/s42003-023-04624-5

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Therefore, the adaptation of different orbit orientations to specific ecological niches has simply been unnecessary [ 82 ]. Orbit orientation and size have recently been quantified in the sabretooth Thylacosmilus atrox (a South American sparassodont related to marsupials) to investigate its visual strategy [ 83 ]. Strikingly, authors found that T. atrox exhibited a peculiar divergent eye sockets with an unusual lack of visual convergence for a predator.…”

Section: Overview Of Carnivoran Ecomorphologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Visual convergence entails stereoscopy, and this enhances the effectiveness of focus-and-follow behaviour [ 84 ]. Despite that, it has been recently proposed that T. atrox probably did not use its canines to dispatch its prey [ 85 ], but that its orbits were frontated and verticalized, and this compensated the limited convergence in orbit orientation [ 83 ].…”

Section: Overview Of Carnivoran Ecomorphologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evolutionary ecomorphology for the twenty-first century: examples from mammalian carnivores

Schwab,

Figueirido,

Martín-Serra

et al. 2023

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Carnivores (cats, dogs and kin) are a diverse group of mammals that inhabit a remarkable range of ecological niches. While the relationship between ecology and morphology has long been of interest in carnivorans, the application of quantitative techniques has resulted in a recent explosion of work in the field. Therefore, they provide a case study of how quantitative techniques, such as geometric morphometrics (GMM), have impacted our ability to tease apart complex ecological signals from skeletal anatomy, and the implications for our understanding of the relationships between form, function and ecological specialization. This review provides a synthesis of current research on carnivoran ecomorphology, with the goal of illustrating the complex interaction between ecology and morphology in the skeleton. We explore the ecomorphological diversity across major carnivoran lineages and anatomical systems. We examine cranial elements (skull, sensory systems) and postcranial elements (limbs, vertebral column) to reveal mosaic patterns of adaptation related to feeding and hunting strategies, locomotion and habitat preference. We highlight the crucial role that new approaches have played in advancing our understanding of carnivoran ecomorphology, while addressing challenges that remain in the field, such as ecological classifications, form–function relationships and multi-element analysis, offering new avenues for future research.

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Section: Overview Of Carnivoran Ecomorphologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Overview Of Carnivoran Ecomorphologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary ecomorphology for the twenty-first century: examples from mammalian carnivores

Schwab,

Figueirido,

Martín-Serra

et al. 2023

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Who was the real sabertooth predator: Thylacosmilus or Thylacoleo?

Janis

2024

The Anatomical Record

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Sabertoothed mammalian predators, all now extinct, were almost exclusively feloid carnivorans (Eutheria, Placentalia): here a couple of extinct metatherian predators are considered in comparison with the placental sabertooths. Thylacosmilus (the “marsupial sabertooth”) and Thylacoleo (the “marsupial lion”) were both relatively large (puma‐sized) carnivores of the Plio‐Pleistocene in the Southern Hemisphere (Argentina and Australia, respectively). Both carnivores have captured the public imagination, especially as predators that were somehow analogous to northern placental forms. But a more detailed consideration of their morphology shows that neither can be simply analogized with its supposed placental counterpart. While Thylacosmilus did indeed have saber‐like canines, many aspects of its anatomy show that it could not have killed prey in the manner proposed for the sabertoothed felids such as Smilodon. Rather than being an active predator, it may have been a specialized scavenger, using the hypertrophied canines to open carcasses, and perhaps deployed a large tongue to extract the innards. Thylacoleo lacked canines, and its supposedly “caniniform” incisors could not have acted like a felid's canines. Nevertheless, while its mode of dispatching its prey remains a subject for debate, it was clearly a powerful predator, likely to be capable of bringing down prey bigger than itself while hunting alone. In that regard, it may have filled the ecomorphological role proposed for placental sabertooths, and so despite the lack of canines can be nominated as the true “marsupial sabertooth” out of the two extinct taxa.

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Bending performance changes during prolonged canine eruption in saber‐toothed carnivores: A case study of Smilodon fatalis

Tseng

2024

The Anatomical Record

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The canine of saber‐toothed predators represents one of the most specialized dental structures known. Hypotheses about the function of hypertrophied canines range from display and conspecific interaction, soft food processing, to active prey acquisition. Recent research on the ontogenetic timing of skull traits indicates the adult canine can take years to fully erupt, but the consequences of prolonged eruption on inferences of canine functional morphology are missing from current discourse and have not been quantified. Here I evaluate hypotheses about adult canine bending strength and stiffness, respectively, during eruption in the felid Smilodon fatalis. Simulated eruption sequences of three adult canines were generated from specimen models to assess shifting cross‐sectional geometry properties, and bending strength and stiffness under laterally directed loads were estimated using finite element analysis. Consistent with beam theory expectations, S. fatalis canine cross‐sectional geometry is optimized for increased bending strength with increased erupted height. However, canine cross‐sectional geometry changes through eruption exaggerate rather than minimize lateral deflection. Spatial constraint for maximum root length from adjacent sensory structures in the maxilla and the recently identified universal power law are hypothesized to limit the growth capacity of canine anteroposterior length and, consequently, maintenance of bending stiffness through eruption. Instead, the joint presence of the deciduous and adult canines for >50% of the adult canine eruption period effectively increases canine mediolateral width and brings bending strength and stiffness estimates closer to theoretical optima. Similarly prolonged retention of deciduous canines in other sabertooths suggests dual‐canine buttressing is a convergently evolved strategy to maximize bending strength and stiffness.

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Seeing through the eyes of the sabertooth Thylacosmilus atrox (Metatheria, Sparassodonta)

Cited by 6 publications

References 54 publications

Evolutionary ecomorphology for the twenty-first century: examples from mammalian carnivores

Evolutionary ecomorphology for the twenty-first century: examples from mammalian carnivores

Who was the real sabertooth predator: Thylacosmilus or Thylacoleo?

Bending performance changes during prolonged canine eruption in saber‐toothed carnivores: A case study of Smilodon fatalis

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