SaberToothed

Giant gorgonopsian Inostrancevia with its dicynodont prey, scaring off the much smaller African species Cyonosaurus. Credit: Art by Matt CeleskeyA recent study reveals intriguing insights into the catastrophic “Great Dying” extinction event 252 million years ago, focusing on the role of a tiger-sized, saber-toothed creature called Inostrancevia.Unearthed fossils indicate that this creature migrated 7,000 miles across Pangaea, filling a gap left by extinct top predators in a far-flung ecosystem before becoming extinct…

With two massive canines, an L-shaped jaw, and a pouch to carry its young, the saber-toothed marsupial Thylacosmilus atrox sounds like an evolutionary Madlib. But researchers have now described an extra quirk: surprisingly wide-set eyes, more typical of horses and cows than carnivorous animals.The finding makes the predator an even more intriguing specimen, raising questions about how evolution engineers predators and why the South American marsupial evolved such an uncommon ocular layout. The team’s findings are…

3D model of Barbourofelis fricki. Credit: Narimane ChatarResearch conducted by the University of Liège sheds new light on the mechanisms behind the bites of saber-toothed carnivores.Narimane Chatar, a Ph.D. student at the EDDyLab of the University of Liège (Belgium) led a team of researchers to examine the biting capabilities of Smilodon, an extinct species of carnivore that is related to modern-day felines. By utilizing advanced 3D scanning and simulation techniques, the team discovered how Smilodon was able to bite…