Tag Archives: saber toothed cats

Saber-toothed Cats and Bear Dogs: How They Made Cohabitation Work

By Guest PostNovember 8, 2012Sciencebear dogs, extinct mammals, mammalian predators, saber toothed cats

ANN ARBOR — The fossilized fangs of saber-toothed cats hold clues to how the extinct mammals shared space and food with other large predators 9 million years ago. (more…)

Prehistoric Predators with Supersized Teeth Had Beefier Arm Bones

By Guest PostJanuary 4, 2012Sciencearm bones, barbourofelids, carnivores, catlike cousins, chicken and egg question, colossal canines, cross section, dimensions of the teeth, durham, environmental challenges, extinct cats, extinct predators, fangs, Julie Meachen, meat eaters, museum specimen, national science foundation, NESCent, nimravids, north Carolina, saber toothed cats, Saber toothed tigers, saran twombly, toothiest prehistoric predators

*Combination of colossal canines and forceful forelimbs arose repeatedly over time*

The toothiest prehistoric predators also had beefier arm bones, according to results of a study published today in the journal Paleobiology.

Saber-toothed tigers may come to mind, but these extinct cats weren’t the only animals with fearsome fangs.

Take the false saber-toothed cats–also known as nimravids–and their catlike cousins, a family of carnivores called the barbourofelids. (more…)