2017/09/27 by Katherine L. Long, Donald R. Prothero, Meena A. Madan +1 · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Veterinary · Environmental Science · #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Veterinary Equine Medical Research #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation #Allometry #Juvenile #Biology #Forelimb #Panthera #Ontogeny #Predation #Hominidae #Anatomy #Pleistocene #Zoology #Paleontology #Ecology #Biological evolution
paper · pdf · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0183175
openalex publication_date 2017/09/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
Previous studies have demonstrated that the Pleistocene saber-toothed cat Smilodon fatalis had many forelimb adaptations for increased strength, presumably to grapple with and subdue prey. The Rancho La Brea tar pits yield large samples of juvenile limb bones forming a growth series that allow us to examine how Smilodon kittens grew up. Almost all available juvenile limb bones were measured, and reduced major axis fits were calculated to determine the allometric growth trends. Contrary to expectations based on their robust limbs, Smilodon kittens show the typical pattern of growth found in other large felids (such as the Ice Age lion, Panthera atrox, as well as living tigers, cougars, servals, and wildcats) where the limb grows longer and more slender faster than they grow thick. This adaptation is thought to give felids greater running speed. Smilodon kittens do not grow increasingly more robust with age. Instead, they start out robust and follow the ancestral felid growth pattern, while maintaining their robustness compared to other felids. Apparently, the growth of felid forelimbs is highly canalized and their ontogeny is tightly constrained.