Functional-adaptive features and palaeobiologic implications of the postcranial skeleton of the late Miocene sabretooth borhyaenoid Thylacosmilus atrox (Metatheria)

Abstract

A functional-adaptive study of the postcranium of two late Miocene sabretooth borhyaenoid specimens (Mammalia, Metatheria) is presented. Thylacosmilus atrox developed a longer neck than in non-sabretooth borhyaenoids and was capable of strong flexion of the head. The lower back is well-stabilized and more rigid than in the other borhyaenoids. The forelimb appears well-suited for manipulating and capturing prey, with a probably well-developed deltoid and pectoral musculature. Compared with other Miocene borhyaenoids, the hip joint of Thylacosmilus is modified to allow greater postural flexibility (e.g. possibility of erect stances). The low greater femoral trochanter, the short and sigmoid tibia, and the semiplantigrade hind foot of Thylacosmilus precluded fast running. Thylacosmilus killed by stabbing, a peculiar mechanism that evolved in parallel in many other sabretooth taxa. This technique has significant functional-adaptive consequences on the postcranial skeleton, superimposed on the generalized morphological pattern reflected in its non-sabertooth relatives. The superficial similarities observed between Thylacosmilus and Smilodon overshadow real differences (at the level of joint patterns and muscular groups involved in particular movements), a condition that suggests the development in the marsupial form of a morphological type unique to the thylacosmilid lineage within Borhyaenoidea.

Key words:

• functional analysis
• sabretooth
• adaptation of fossil species
• Metatheria
• Miocene
• palaeobiology
• South America