The origins of the sabre-toothed felid model

A recent study on the functional anatomy of the forelimb of Promeganteron ogygia (Salesa et al., 2010) reveals that this primitive sabre-toothed felid had strong forelimbs and a short and very robust thumb, a combination that allowed it exerting relatively greater forces than the extant, similarly sized pantherins. These features can be clearly related to the evolution of the sabre-toothed cat hunting method, in which the rapid killing of prey was achieved with a precise canine shear-bite to the throat. In P. ogygia, the strong forelimbs and thumb were adapted to achieve the rapid immobilization of prey, thus decreasing the risk of injury and minimizing energy expenditure during the killing. Salesa et al. (2010) suggested that these were the major evolutionary pressures that led to the appearance of the sabre-toothed cat model from the primitive forms of the Middle Miocene, rather than the hunting of very large prey.

For further information:

-Salesa, M. J., Antón, M., Turner, A. & Morales, J. (2010). Functional anatomy of the forelimb in Promegantereon ogygia (Felidae, Machairodontinae, Smilodontini) from the Late Miocene of Spain and the origins of the sabre-toothed felid model. Journal of Anatomy, 216: 381-396.

Artwork by Mauricio Antón