new analysis of distinctive canine teeth saber-toothed tiger (Smilodon Fatalis) The deciduous teeth that precede each saber (the deciduous teeth that all mammals grow and lose by adulthood) remain in place for years to stabilize the growing permanent saber teeth, and perhaps adolescents break them off. This suggests that it was possible to learn how to hunt without having to hunt.
The canines of saber-toothed predators are among the most specialized tooth structures known. Hypotheses regarding the function of enlarged dogs range from exhibition and conspecific interactions, processing of soft foods to active prey acquisition. Recent studies on the ontogenetic timing of cranial traits have shown that adult dogs may take many years to fully erupt, but long-term implications for inferences of functional morphology in dogs. The impact of the eruption is missing from current discussions and remains unquantified. In his new study, Tseng evaluates hypotheses regarding bending strength and stiffness, respectively, in adult dogs during rash. Smilodon Fatalis. Image credit: Massimo Molinello.
This new study provides the first evidence that saber teeth alone were increasingly vulnerable to lateral breakage during eruption, but would have been more stable if they had primary or deciduous teeth next to them. .
The evidence consists of computer modeling of the strength and lateral bending stiffness of the saber tooth, as well as actual testing and failure of a plastic model of the saber tooth.
“This new study is confirmation through physical and simulation tests of an idea that several collaborators and I published several years ago. It is possible that the timing of the saber ejection is adjusted and the double fang phase “It's possible,” he said. Study author Dr. Jack Tseng is a paleontologist at the University of California, Berkeley.
“Imagine a timeline where the milk canine comes out, and once it finishes erupting, the permanent canine comes out, overtakes the milk canine, and eventually pushes out the milk canine.”
“What would happen if this baby tooth was in the mouth right next to this permanent tooth for 30 months?”
“Long after the saber's permanent teeth erupted, the baby dog's unusual presence protected it, while the adult tiger learned how to hunt without damaging the saber.”
“Eventually, the baby teeth will fall out and the adult will have learned how to use the saber, but they will lose the support of the saber.”
Paleontologists still don't know what saber-tooth preferences are Smilodon He hunted his prey without breaking his unwieldy saber.
Dr Tseng said: “The double fang stage is probably worth revisiting now that we have shown there is insurance potential and broader protection.”
“This allows our teenage equivalents to experiment, take risks, and essentially learn how to become fully grown, perfect predators.”
“If you look at sabertooth use and increased hunting through a mechanical lens, I think it's not a solution, but it's a refinement.”
The same canine stabilization system may have evolved in other saber-toothed animals, researchers say.
Although no examples of double tusks in other species have been found in the fossil record, some skulls have been found to have adult teeth elsewhere in the jaw and deciduous teeth where the saber grows. has been done.
“What we are seeing is that milk canines are preserved in specimens with adult dentition. This means that the adult teeth, the sabers, are erupting or are beginning to erupt. “This suggests that milk canines were retained over a long period of time,” Dr. Tseng said.
of study Published in anatomical record.
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Z. Jack Tseng.Changes in bending performance during long-term eruption of saber gingival canine teeth: a case study. Smilodon Fatalis. anatomical record, published online on April 8, 2024. doi: 10.1002/ar.25447
Source: www.sci.news
