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| Photo courtesy PDPhoto.org | |
Saber-toothed cats had enormous fangs that they used to kill their prey. The size and shape of these fangs however, made it more likely that they would become fractured by furiously struggling prey. Researchers have discovered that these cats had extraordinarily strong upper arm bones that allowed them to easily pin down struggling prey before using their powerful canines to make the kill. Using x-rays to measure the limbs of modern big cats and fossil limbs of saber-toothed cats, it was discovered that the arm bones of saber-toothed cats were thicker and larger than modern big cats.
The researchers believe that the thicker, stronger arm bones were a result of wrestling with prey. Researcher Julie Meachen-Samuels states, "As muscles pull on bones, bones respond by getting stronger. Because saber-toothed cats had thicker arm bones, we think they must have used their forelimbs more than other cats did." The predator-prey relationship between saber-toothed cats and other animals resulted in the development of muscular arms and improved bone density for saber-toothed cats.
Learn more about this study:
- Why You Should Never Arm Wrestle a Saber-Toothed Tiger Science Daily
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