A team of researchers led by Narimane Chatar, doctoral student at EDDyLab at the University of Liège, tested the bite effectiveness of the Smilodon, an extinct species of carnivore close to current felines. Thanks to high precision 3D scans and simulation methods, the team has just revealed how these animals managed to bite despite the impressive length of their teeth. This study is the subject of a publication in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B
ancient carnivorous mammals have developed a wide range of skulls and teeth throughout their evolution. However, few of these developments have yet equaled those of the felidated saber-toothed emblematic Smilodon. Other groups of mammals, such as the now extinct nimravids, have also evolved into a similar morphology, with species with saber teeth but also much shorter canines, similar to those of lions, tigers, caracals, domestic cats, etc. that we know today. This phenomenon of the appearance of similar morphologies in different groups of organisms is known as convergent evolution; felines and nimravids being an astonishing example of convergence. As there are no modern animal equivalents with such saber-shaped teeth, the hunting method. Smilodon and other similar species remained obscure and the subject of heated debate. It was initially suggested that all saber-toothed species hunted in the same way, regardless of the length of their canines, a hypothesis which is today controversial. From then on, the question remained suspended ... How did this variety of "saber-toothed cats" hunt?