Fossils Reveal Not All Sharp-toothed Animals Are Predators

Currently there are no cats like Smilodon. Predators in the ice age could exceed the size of the largest live tiger

But his relative, marsupial Thylacosmilus who has long fangs like Smilodon may not be a predator according to a recent study of scientists in the journal PeerJ.

Thylacosmilus, who is also a kangaroo and wombat relative, may be more a scavenger who uses his long canine teeth to cut carcasses and shake most of the food left behind.

"Thylacosmilus is not just a sabertooth marsupial version of the cat," DeSantis said on the National Geographic website.

"The ecology may be very different from anything alive today - carnivores who specialize in soft organs."

This finding highlights how long fangs (sabertooth) have appeared in various animals for hundreds of millions of years. What surprised the scientists was that the fangs turned out to be multifunctional.

Even herbivorous animals also develop elongated fangs, using it as a display or weapon against rivals as they chew leaves.

"Dogs can be used for a number of reasons," Des Moines University paleontologist Julie Meachen said.

Many primates - from lemurs to baboons and chimpanzees - have long canines. By looking at their skulls, someone might call them sharp teeth. However, their canines are conical, rather than thin and flat like Smilodon's.

The oldest saber toothed animal found to have lived around 260 million years ago - and it was not a carnivore. Named in 2011 from fossils found in Brazil, Tiarajudens eccentricus is the shape of a medium dog and looks like a cross between a pig and a tortoise.

National Geographic states that the animal belongs to a vertebrate clade called synapsids — a large family that includes mammals and all their close relatives. The jutting of the Tiarajudens' maxilla is a pair of long, flat canines, perhaps the world's first set of saber teeth.

But the remaining protomammal teeth suggest it eat plants. So why do herbivores need impressive fangs? Tiarajudens might use his teeth to show off or maybe fight among his own species.

When conflicts arise, the Tiarajudens with bigger teeth may win. And if intimidation is unsuccessful, the animals may even cut each other to resolve disputes.

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