IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Anyonge, W. | |
| Microwear on canines and killing behavior in large carnivores: saber function in_ Smilodon fatalis_ | |
| 1996 Journal of Mammalogy (77): 1059-1067 | |
Canids and hyaenids display a high density of features of microwear on canine teeth that reflect their similarity in killing strategy. However, hyaenids tend to have a higher percentage of short and wide features (pits) because of the high percentage of bone in their diet. Canines of felids display relatively fewer features than canids and hyaenids, which suggest that felids apprehend prey by delivering deep, strong bites that result in less abrasion of the canines. I suggest that canids rely more heavily on their canines and incisors for feeding than do felids. _Smilodon fatalis_, a large saber-tooth cat from the Pleistocene of North America, is similar to living felids in having relatively few features of canines but differs from cheetahs (_Acinonyx jubatus_) and African lions (_Panthera leo_) in having relatively more pits. _S. fatalis_ showed no consistent similarity in features of microwear on canine teeth to six large carnivores (leopard, _Panthera pardus_; cheetah; African lion; spotted hyaena, _Crocuta crocuta_; African wild dog, _Lycaon pictus_; grey wolf, _Canis lupus_), which suggests that its killing behavior and possibly dietary preference differed from modern predators. S. fatalis may have avoided contact with bone during killing and feeding encounters, which caused fewer features to from on the upper canines. |
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