Sabertooth carcass consumption behavior and the dynamics of Pleistocene large carnivoran guilds.

ABSTRACT: Apex predators play an important role in the top-down regulation of ecological communities. Their hunting and feeding behaviors influence, respectively, prey demography and the availability of resources to other consumers. Among the most iconic-and enigmatic-terrestrial predators of the late Cenozoic are the Machairodontinae, a diverse group of big cats whose hypertrophied upper canines have earned them the moniker "sabertooths." Many aspects of these animals' paleobiology, especially their prey preferences and carcass consumption behavior, remain unsettled. While skeletal anatomy, dental morphology and wear, and isotopic profiles provide important insights, the most direct way to resolve these issues is through the fossil remains of sabertooth prey. Here, we report on a taphonomic analysi

SUBMITTER: Dominguez-Rodrigo M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9061710 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature