Everything about Thylacosmilus totally explained
Thylacosmilus ("Pouch Sabre") was a
genus of sabre-toothed
marsupial predators that first appeared during the
Miocene. Remains of the animal have been found in parts of
South America, primarily
Argentina. It wasn't a relative of the true
saber-tooth cat, but rather a prime example of
convergent evolution.
Thylacosmilus had long, sabre-like upper canines and short, blunt, peg-like lower canines. The incisors were missing altogether and the other teeth were severely reduced, but, as distinct from
machairods, their number was complete.
Thylacosmilus' sabre-teeth kept growing throughout its life, unlike the sabres of true saber-tooths. It also had a pair of elongated,
scabbard-like flanges growing from the lower jaw, which protected the sabre-teeth when it closed its mouth. The cervical vertebrae were very strong and to some extent resembled the vertebrae of machairods.
It became extinct during the early
Pleistocene as a result of the
Great American Interchange, being outcompeted by true sabre-tooth cats such as
Smilodon.
Further Information
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