Curious mix of precision and brawn in a pouched super-predator
Monday, July 1, 2013 - 12:30
in Paleontology & Archaeology
A bizarre, pouched super-predator that terrorized South America millions of years ago had huge sabre-like teeth but its bite was weaker than that of a domestic cat, new research shows. To achieve a kill Thylacosmilus atrox must have secured and immobilized large prey using its extremely powerful forearms, before inserting the sabre-teeth into the windpipe or major arteries of the neck -- a mix of brute force and delicate precision.