Re: "Terror Birds" & WWPB

["David Marjanovic" <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>]

 

And the suggestion that the Smilodon could use its canines on either side of the verts of its prey may work for small prey items, but the experiment that I think was mentioned was done on a bison carcass, and verts for prey that size would be too wide for a Smilodon.  Too much of a risk of breakage of the teeth, methinks.

While normal mammalian canines are rather conical*, sabercat sabers are laterally flattened, recurved and serrated, in one word, ziphodont. Reminds me of something, hmmm. I like the suggestion by far best that these teeth were used like those of big theropods -- to inflict incredible wounds to prey of unimportant size, e. g. various elephants. This is illustrated in Benton's Vertebrate Palaeontology. Only the size of the teeth does matter =8-)

 

* Mine are rather triconodont. The exception that proves the rule. :-)

 

BTW, I think the camera-is-there-illusion in WW(P)B is just intended to introduce some fun. But I haven't seen the film.