What the Hell is Thylacosmilus?!

[@DrummerDaddio]

Dude, seriously, your presentation style is great. You do such a great job of explaining things in a way that non-paleontoligists can understand, and at the perfect speed; not too fast and not too slow. You know when to pause and define the jargon and its not condescending. If you're not a professor, you should be!

[@RaptorChatter]

Working on it! Need to finish some of the degrees to actually be able to teach, but that is one of the goals I have!

[@ZeFroz3n0ne907]

I agree, I love his content.

[@TheDrapetomanic]

He's way better than so so so many other KZbinrs too

[@wolfgang757]

@@RaptorChatter In all good intent, you are uni-dimensional. Single faceted. You are informative but over the course of many videos they are essentially the same video with different critters plugged in. Don't attempt to make a career out of one act. I am starting to skip over your videos as I am really tired of the "What The Heck Was It?" thing, it is getting really lazy and over done.

[@rogerpartner1622]

Egg Zactly 👍

[@wcdeich4]

Interesting, Cheetahs focus on soft organs (somewhat) like Thylacosmilus, yet Cheetahs are no scavengers, they lose their prey to scavengers; strange.

[@bkjeong4302]

The study by Janis et al. that argued Thylacosmilus was a scavenger made that conclusion by taking its data out of context; a more recent study (Melchionna et al, 2021: search up “A method for mapping morphological convergence on three-dimensional digital models: the case of the mammalian sabre-tooth”) found it really was convergent with sabretoothed cats after all. Most of the features that supposedly indicated it was a scavenger and not acting like sabretoothed cats were actually also found in sabretoothed cats: these similarities only seemed to be differences between Thylacosmilus and sabretoothed cats due to Thylacosmilus having taken these features up another notch, and because the scavenger paper by Janis et al. failed to compare both Thylacosmilus and Smilodon to a non-sabretoothed carnivore to put their features in context (for example, Smilodon is capable of a far greater degree of cranial depression compared to Panthera, though not to the extent of Thylacosmilus; this is something Janis et al. failed to realize due to not comparing sabretoothed and non-sabretoothed carnivores in the way Melchionna et al. did, and disproves their argument that Thylacosmilus had adaptations for cranial depression more indicative of scavenging that true sabretoothed predators like Smilodon lacked). In addition, there’s reason to think that Thylacosmilus actually did have a full set of incisor teeth. Aside from the fact the premaxillary section of Thylacosmilus isn’t actually known from fossil remains (it was just assumed they were toothless there, hence all the skull models with missing incisors), wear patterns on the canines indicate they did have incisors between them. So unfortunately….this video is quite inaccurate when it comes to how this animal functioned. Also, because people are going to bring this up: South American predators like sparassodonts, sebecids and terror birds didn’t actually get outcompeted by placental carnivores like canids and felids. All three of the major South American predator clades entered chronic decline in the Late Miocene, with the sebecids already going extinct at this point. Thylacosmilus was the last sparassodont and died out before the Great American Biotic Interchange happened, as did all of the larger terror birds save Titanis (which actually evolved in North America and thus coexisted with placental competitors for its entire existence-it was its ancestor that moved into North America from South America). There were no large South American terror birds (and very few small terror birds) or any sparassodonts left by the time cats, canids, etc finally showed up in South America towards the tail end of the GABI.

[@thedogman7846]

Adding to this I honestly can not image how a leopard sized carnivore could sustain itself, let alone a whole population of it by finding carcasses that still have their soft organ tissue. Organs are most often the first part of a prey item to be eaten or scavanged. Thylacosmilus would have a really hard time finding intact carcasses that were either abandoned immidiatly after being killed or that naturally passed away before being discovered by other scavangers which to me does not sound reasonable.

[@jfrmfrjm]

Great update, thank you very much!

[@eljanrimsa5843]

I want to come back to this thread in 20 years and see what we have figured out about what the sabre teeth were used for by the different animals that had them. Right now we are abandoning the "Our models tell us they were too fragile for anything"-approach, and need a fresh look. Perhaps Thylacosmilus was sucking giant apple snails out of their shells.

[@amberkat8147]

@@eljanrimsa5843 Actually someone figured it out for the smilodon, they were shaped for going around throats, hopefully slicing important things in the process, and then maintaining their hold as the animal collapsed. Kind of a one-strike kill tool. I'm curious how they'd actually eat with those teeth possibly getting in the way. That goes even more for thylacosmilus because they also had those weird jaw things.

[@cthulhufhtagn2483]

I was going to say - many of the adaptations discussed here (especially the huge, deeply-rooted, piercing sabre teeth) seem like adaptations for active predation.

[@rugvedrm3844]

Might I add that Smilodon had exceptionally big infraorbital foramina, even for felids. Maybe it has to do with using more numerous and/or more sensitive vibrissae to sense where to deliver the killing bite(as their canines were fragile to lateral stress).

[@RaptorChatter]

That could be! I'm not too much of a mammal guy, so wanted to focus on the main subje t of the video without getting too much into research on other animals.

[@darklight6013]

@@RaptorChatter Talking about Thylacosmilus cranial structure, i noted how really small was its nasal opening, expecially compared to that of big felids like the very same smilodon; big cats need this very wide opening principally to dissipate heat, when running and fighting with prey. This leads me to some considerations about how sparassodonts metabolism could have been different from that of placental mammals and, so, their body heat management. By the way Borhyaenids had bigger nasal opening, just like your ordinary placental predator, so... maybe it can be that Thylacosmilus simply didn't need all this extra-heat dissipation, not because its basal metabolism but due its lifestyle; maybe it was a scavenger indeed... this would explain also why its claws were so small, expecially for a presumed brontophagous, which would have needed really big claws, to climb and stay on its prey.

[@Thor-Orion]

@@darklight6013 what is a brontophagous? I looked it up and there's nothing.

[@darklight6013]

@@Thor-Orion It's a predator specialized for the biggest prey. Smilodon and allosauroid dinosaurs are an example. Generally they have adaptations which allow them too kill prey bigger then them, for example very long, blade-like teeth, with which killing the prey by blood loss.

[@bkjeong4302]

The big infraorbital foramina of Smilodon actually reminds me of what Neovenator had: another convergence between sabretooths and allosauroids.

[@rhoff523]

You always do a marvelous job! A great topic would be comparing Thylacosmilus, Thylacoleo and some of the saber cats, what amazing convergence yet so many differences in morphology, anatomy, etc. Thanks RC

[@DeathsHood]

It's actually not a war crime to use triangular bayonets. The Geneva Convention apparently prohibits _serrated_ bayonets, but not triangular ones.

[@Dr.IanPlect]

oxygen thief

[@ZeFroz3n0ne907]

Hello from Alaska! Love your content! I learn something new every time I watch your videos! Keep up the fantastic work!

[@kirkisdad8]

This is just great! You did a superlative job! I have been following you for some time now and so enjoy your channel. A supporter, Kirk

[@RaptorChatter]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@toddhoward6786]

Dinosaur man has returned from the lands of dinosaur knowledge to share. Praise to the dinosaur man! Many thanks for your service you bring to the community. Very high quality Dinosaur content

[@crazybirdybird4312]

How would it scavenge if it needed soft tissue? Scavengers don’t get first dibs with the nice soft bits; they need to scrape and crush bones.

[@RaptorChatter]

It's an odd idea definitely. And I think me saying "or it had a poorly understood hunting strategy" is doing a lot of lifting I should have been more clear about.

[@Pete_1986]

A scavenger does not usually get to find a dead animals soft organs lying there waiting for them. These are usually the first parts of the body that are consumed by whatever killed it. So I think there is a problem with the hypothesis you present in which thylacosmilus was A: a scavenger and B: consumed only the soft meats.

[@RaptorChatter]

Yeah, I really should have leaned on the poorly understood hunting style more than I did. That's my bad, but hopefully you still came away with the sense that it was a bizarre, almost, but not quite convergent carnivore like the saber toothed cats, despite being nowhere near related to them.

[@Pete_1986]

@@RaptorChatter yes, it was a very interesting video, thanks.

[@DrBunnyMedicinal]

Another excellent video. Thanks for all the time, effort and enthusiasm you put into each one!

[@RaptorChatter]

You're welcome!

[@TheJLAMAR23]

This was put together and delivered fantastically. Well done man!

[@lovepeople777]

it literally had pockets, for its teeth. awesome

[@Caleddon]

From the day I saw this animal in my encyklopedia during childhood, Thylacosmilus stayed in my mind to this day. And I have never found such a great video, like yours, dedicated to this animal. Thank you sir ! I am also fascinated by these strange marsupial not marsupial mammals. Sometimes I think about, what if, due to convergent evolution, some marsupial developed as highly as for example chimpanzee or another higher ape :D

[@wanderslostify]

This is the first time I have seen your work. I am really impressed. I like the detail about HOW we know (provisionally) these things.

[@johnlittle8975]

I don't know about Thylacosmilus being a scavenger because it ate soft tissues. I rather think it was maybe a mid range predator not really capable of defending it's kill, like a cheetah. Scavengers tend to have stronger jaws for getting into tougher meat and bones of left over kill sites.

[@Stevieboy130664]

What a brilliant video of a fascinating mammal that has no really close living relatives! The description of the animal including the FEA of its skull comparing it to Smilodon and giving pointers why it evolved that way and objectively detailing the reasons it went extinct were highlights. As regards the post orbital bar, I am an engineer who has dealt occasionally with stress analysis of engineered structures. Even in them, it has always struck me how introducing even small, seemingly inconsequential details, can have a big effect on how stress can be reduced in a structure which also has the effect of reducing local deflections which may be nowhere near these details.

[@alisav8394]

Great video man! You managed to present all those research papers in a very simple and easy to understand way! Best quality paleontology content online

[@QUIRK1019]

I love to listen while I work. You're very easy to understand, please keep up the good work

[@RaptorChatter]

Thanks!

[@akiraasmr3002]

Can you do a video on Therocephalians like Gorynychus, Trochosaurus, and Moschorhinus? The big ones have always been interesting predators to me. Also Theriodonts specifically the Gorgonopsid Rubidgea?

[@philipilgen7653]

Very cool video! To be honest I always thought Thylacosmilus was just a marsupial. Nice to learn more about it.

[@RaptorChatter]

It is often thought about as just a marsupial, because the minutiae of defining metatheria isn't talked about much outside of the specific circles which study it.

[@Corvaire]

I'm curious about the paws and lung capacity of the Thylo as those k-9's would be ideal for catching fish.

[@thearcaneartbyjac5170]

It reminds me of the Giant River Otter, also in South America. :)

[@kylestanley7843]

Your video style is very much like a scientific article spun into an oratory form. I appreciate it.

[@RaptorChatter]

Thanks! I generally try to do that, so I really appreciate it!

[@SnoGryphon]

Such incredible design. Thank you for the comparison.

[@eacalvert]

So glad I found your channel this is so awesome 😎

[@hughloxdale4617]

Thank you. A brilliant exposition of a fascinating animal.

[@jeniocallaghan5112]

Really interesting. A Gene Simmons tongue? Did you add music to the end or did Brilliant? LOVE IT.

[@RaptorChatter]

The Gene Simmons reference would have been great if I had thought of it. We did the editing and added the music.

[@williamchamberlain2263]

14:25, 14:45, 14:55 - or it was a long distance exhaustion chase predator, running its prey to exhaustion then getting out of there before the sprint predators and heavy carrion eaters arrived at the kill.

[@benjaminrivera4585]

Excellent video! As a aspiring paleozoologist , I love learning with you.

[@RaptorChatter]

Great to hear!

[@OrichalcumHammer]

15:21 Interesting Mammoth design. 2:27 comparable to Jaguar. 11:28 Post-Orbital bar. Gives a more pronounced protected structure.

[@brodyhess5553]

I may have missed the part but I bet ya it specialized in something , like lynx to bunny’s ; and that food source disappeared cause of agw haha

[@travisstoll3582]

This was so interesting. Great presentation.

[@williamchamberlain2263]

8:10 afaik cats have rough tongues so that they can rasp tissue off of carcasses - could thingamajig have had a de facto radula?

[@neonwind]

Thank you for your presentation. I appreciate your hard work.

[@z1az285]

Fantastic video. Many thanks. Please release a video on homotherium using similar data. It was a generalist predator and quite successful, and it's extinction doesn't make sense.

[@Temtatork]

Underapreciated, this channel is cool, i have never guess what thylacosmilus was doing

[@bkjeong4302]

Except the study this video cites to argue Thylacosmilus was a scavenger has already been disproven.

[@RaptorChatter]

Thanks!

[@RaptorChatter]

I wouldn't say disproven. I actually hadn't seen the paper before today, but from what I had seen it wasn't as much about the conclusion as it was about the methods. The authors themselves mention other tests which could be done to help get a better idea, but their conclusions are at best equal in possiblity as the scavenging hypothesis. Additionally, they don't propose any specific hunting strategy based on the differences from what I saw of the paper, so the "poorly understood hunting strategy" I mention it could have had still would be covered.

[@bkjeong4302]

@@RaptorChatter I would argue that their criticisms of Janis et al. refutes some of the biggest arguments in Janis et al. against Thylacosmilus not actually being a sabretoothed ambush predator. And that morphospace analysis is pretty conclusive as well. I don’t think we need to think to hard to find a viable hunting behaviour for Thylacosmilus, because it’s already been posited by others for both it and other sabretoothed predatory mammals; the bear-like build points towards it being a heavily built, grappling ambush predator (Note that Smilodon itself is also noted for having a bear-like build, despite being a felid, which is yet another similarity between it and Thylacosmilus that Janis et al. assumed was a difference). Bears themselves are surprisingly effective grappling predators in spite of not even being dedicated carnivores or having retractable claws. There’s also the whole issue of if being a large flightless obligate scavenger is even viable given the search time and energy expenditure from trying to find carcasses/kills in the first place.

[@RaptorChatter]

As far as I am aware there haven't been specific studies on the build of Thylacosmilus, or at least which I could access. There was one with a French title which I saw, but I am not sure how good the data is as I could not access the paper. I think for the basic reasons of the skull differences it makes sense that Thylacosmilus doesn't fit nicely into the same niche as the other sabertooths. While there is convergence, as that paper suggests it is still distinct. I think that both papers went a little too bold with conclusions, but the fact is that we don't have, in my opinion, a good understanding what Thylacosmilus was doing in comparison to other saber tooths. The Janis et al. paper is from what I saw the best paper to understand those contrasts. I tried to be clear that it potentially scavenged or had a poorly understood hunting strategy, and I stand by that. While convergence exists, I think understanding the differences are an important factor for understanding the animal.

[@brynadoodle]

Awesome vid! Love sabertoothed animals 💗

[@MadMorgie6318]

I wish you'd talked more about what those lower jaw droops, whatever the technical term for that is, but otherwise a fascinating video.

[@RaptorChatter]

Unfortunately from what I saw most of the research was on the saber teeth specifically. If I had to guess though it was a way to keep the enamel hydrated. Enamel, while hard, can crack if it gets too dry, so having those droops was probably a way to keep them form cracking.

[@suenoslucidos3899]

What makes Smilodon so mysterious is it’s hunting style many theorize it was a bite and follow kind of predator using its teeth to wound its prey and follow it until it bled to death which would explain why it’s teeth aren’t designed to shake and kill prey.

[@bkjeong4302]

It wouldn’t follow its prey after wounding it-it would sever the carotid artery to make sure it had no need to do so (because the wound would kill the prey right there)

[@mikewilson858]

The scavenging hypothesis doesn’t make sense to me since most other scavengers evolve to deal with tough meat and bone. How often would you find an unguarded carcass that hadn’t already been scavenged? The soft tissue goes first. It seems pretty clear that it was an attack predator and perhaps like the cheetah took the best parts and moved on. South America had a number of heavy Carnivores that could have driven it from kills and lots of relatively slow large mammals that it’s large teeth would be useful in killing quickly with a bite to the throat.

[@bkjeong4302]

Actually South American predators were already in chronic decline from climatic changes by the time Thylacosmilus evolved (Thylacosmilus was the very last sparassodont and coexisted alongside the last of the large South American terror birds), but the scavenger idea still doesn’t work for other reasons.

[@MarfTheUnbearable]

If the theory is it was a scavenger that fed primarily on the soft parts of a carcass, why did it have a skull that could handle greater lateral stresses than a predator such as Smilodon? Perhaps it fed on small prey items that were still large enough to necessitate being subdued after capture.

[@enumaukpabia7677]

U r sooooo good at this man .Thank u so much 🙏

[@rangerg7278]

I have been trained in evolutionary biology, and greatly enjoyed this video on an unusual group of mammals. Very well done!

[@2degucitas]

Well, with the prefix Thylaco it gives an instant impression it's a marsupial.

[@gustavodarocha951]

Wow, I just came to your channel and I really like it. A great channel

[@RaptorChatter]

Thanks!

[@patreekotime4578]

Really cool animal and great presentation!

[@RaptorChatter]

Thanks!

[@t0mn8r35]

This was very informative and interesting.

[@cargo_vroom9729]

5:15 To the best of my knowledge spike and triangular bayonets are not banned or a war crime to use and never were. The idea that they are is a persistent myth. Perhaps because you could make an argument for them falling under cause undue suffering rules. But in practice no one ever has, and bayonets are increasingly irrelevant. The 1949 Geneva Convention forbids *serrated* bayonets but doesn't mention triangular ones at all.

[@declanrex9435]

Perfect video length love it. Great vid

[@shoot4fun302]

Just gonna throw this out there: another group of mammals that lack maxillary anterior teeth are insectivores like anteaters, aardvarks, and armadillos. Those large canines could have been used to tear into termite mounds and ant nests, then the large tongue (another insectivore trait) could have been used to lap them up. Competition from these other insectivores could have been their downfall. South America has anteaters, armadillos, and peccaries; all of which eat insects. It's tempting to characterize animals with large canines as carnivores, but that's not always the case.

[@vincentx2850]

Thylacosmilus' canine is also open rooted and self sharpening, very much like the claws of an ant eating animal. It may well be an marsupial sloth bear

[@RaptorChatter]

That could also be a possibility. A great test for the future would be doing stable isotope analysis of the teeth to try and get an idea of the specific prey or other items it was feeding on.

[@bkjeong4302]

@@RaptorChatter Staple isotopic analysis has already been done for Thylacosmilus (Domingo et al, 2020) and indicates a diet of herbivorous mammals. Re: Thylacosmilus’s ever-growing, self-sharpening canines, it’s important to note that Thylacosmilus isn’t the only sparassodont with ever-growing canines: the much older (Eocene to Oligocene) proborhyaenids also did, and they’ve been recovered as being closely related to the thylacosmilids among the sparassodonts. So the seemingly unusual nature of Thylacosmilus’s ever-growing canines may have little to do with its diet and everything to do with its ancestry.

[@bkjeong4302]

The idea Thylacosmilus lacked maxillary anterior teeth is questionable; we actually haven’t found a skull with that area preserved (we’ve basically been restoring their skulls on the ASSUMPTION they didn’t have teeth there), and tooth wear on the canines does actually indicate the animal had a full set of incisors (Anton, 2007).

[@MeanBeanComedy]

​@@bkjeong4302 Yeah, this obviously makes the most sense. No need to overcomplicate things.

[@GeorgeTheDinoGuy]

You have a really great KZbin channel! Very information video!

[@RaptorChatter]

Glad you think so!

[@Sieffre_Tawr]

I notice the eyes are framed (as you say) and the resultant field of vision is not as good a later placentals.

[@rursus8354]

I never suspected Thylacosmilus could be this interesting (or rather the science behind it).

[@RaptorChatter]

It really is just so bizarre despite being so superficially similar to other sabertoothed mammals.

[@PatrickPaul1203]

It looks like a giant ferret to me

[@junegemini3092]

Don’t usually comment, just wanted to say I love your channel and I’m so glad I found it ☺️

[@RaptorChatter]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@coppergryphon7787]

From watching a lot of these videos, everything either involves into crabs, cats, or flying creatures

[@puporka5941]

I had a thylacosmilus fursona a few years ago!!!! Im glad to see that there are more people who love this incredible unique animal too :D

[@rogerpartner1622]

You come over as a really good man. Probably battled with a speech impediment in younger life was probs bullied but your love for your subject and that you and your partner found each other both with similar Careers and love of Interesting Fossils bones creatures Etc. God bless . I always watch your presentations and Your wifes. Always intresting. And of course I’m subscribed. But I don’t have monies in UK to donate sadly. But your Blogs/ Vlogs ?? Lol. Are on my list. If I came into monies. Lol. All the best. ROGER from LONDON . 😇

[@bentruitt9401]

BTW I thumbs upped you and subscribed. Love that your making the video and I'm just adding my 2 cents to the discussion. Not trying to throw shade on your endeavor here. Good job👍

[@dennismason3740]

Ecosystems within ecosystems within ecosystems. A single cell is an ecosystem. An animal body is an ecosystem. A tree is an ecosystem. From the atomic to the infinite. Can you imagine ecosystems? A seventeen-mile-long mycelium living underground in France is an ecosystem linking, symbiotically, the entire forest as one organism.

[@barrybarlowe5640]

I'm thinking of the tusked deer, where their tusks essentially replace their horns, but they are principally herbivores. Probably not, but it should be considered.

[@davidfalconer1639]

Boy oh Boy the back half looks like a TASSIE tiger.

[@karnovtalonhawk9708]

nice stuff man keep it up

[@drfill9210]

Count up the metatherians to find out if the smiladon is a jedi

[@vanguard9067]

Thank you very much. I learned a bunch!

[@youtubejosephwm6699]

In 2020 I was a thylacosmilus for Halloween

[@daverei1211]

From what you describe of it’s teeth and mouth, these are stabbing teeth, then it was a stabbing hunter, slurping up blood rather than chewing meat. Think of what we see of big cats biting at the neck, imagine if this thing kept stabbing till it cut an artery to bring blood to the surface.

[@RaptorChatter]

Blood isn't really that nutritious unfortunately. So it's not likely something the size if Thylacosmilus could sustain itself that way.

[@Raptorrat]

You might want to look into your statement about triangular blades. While a triangular wound is more dificult to stitch, compared to a wound made by a flat blade. it was nothing a field surgeun couldn't handle. The real benefit of them was the ease with wich they could be produced, and the strength it had when stabbing. Making it less likely it would bend or break. Damage wise; a flat, serated, blade used with a twisting motion will make more ragged, irregular shaped, wounds. (In extention, a Fuller is a way of making a blade lighter, and not a "blood-gutter", as many suppose.)

[@RaptorChatter]

That could be. I was under the impression that it was just harder to heal. The point on general shape though still stands, I'll just have to find a new comparison though! Thanks!

[@Raptorrat]

@@RaptorChatter you're welcome. I'd like to note that the triangular shape of the teeth could be benificial if shaking is involved. As it should be able to deal with sideways stresses better. But I am by no means an expert, so some salt and skepticism wouldn't go amiss.

[@tacomandela9118]

triangle blades are not a warcrime, they are just better at penetrating armor for the most part and are actually easier to stitch up

[@jfrmfrjm]

That speciation - diversity part just made me think of the human species: if decline in speciation and diversity is what portends extinction, Homo sapiens is in that path.

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

You said it was like nothing else we've ever had. Sounds like it was sort of like the Cheetah now, though. Still, a fascinating video, thanks! Here's a like and comment for the Almighty Algorithm!

[@rugvedrm3844]

There are atleast 2 large marsupial carnivores, both in Thylacoleonidae. These are Thylacoleo carnifex and Wakaleo alcootaensis.

[@RaptorChatter]

Oh, I didn't realize there was a relative of Thylacoleo! That's neat!

[@jorgeburgos4539]

this change many of the things I though of this species I always thought oh it was the saber tooth of its land but now seen it as a probably mainly scavenger makes me think what other predator where present to take the " apex " place if it wasn't Thylacosmilus could it be hoove crocodiles and terror birds ? south America sure was a weird place in prehistoric times

[@bkjeong4302]

Actually the “scavenger Thylacosmilus” thing has already been disproven. Terror birds were also apex predators in South America, but both they and sparassodonts (the group that Thylacosmilus is a part of) were dying out by the time Thylacosmilus evolved. This was well before North American predators showed up in South America, so they clearly didn’t get outcompeted as often claimed.

[@theducklord5748]

@@bkjeong4302 I think you replied to the wrong comment.

[@afk2167]

This animal has possibly the most unique diet fir a terrestrial vertebrate period

[@eypick6987]

Funny thing: as my father walked past, he exclaimed to me that Thylacosmilus was Smilodon. Literally in a passing glance, they’re the same.

[@RaptorChatter]

Yeah, it's really down to those details when you realize they aren't as similar as they seem.

[@rileyernst9086]

The tooth of thyloacosmilus is much more like a medieval rondel dagger than the smilodon's. The rondel dagger was largely used by late medieval knights and men at arms to kill other knight and men at arms, in an era where suits of full plate armour were being employed. It really seems these are armour defeating teeth. That and a possibly large muscular and prehensile tongue makes this thing sound like the terror of armadillos and other armoured xenarthrens!

[@MrJonnyPepper]

😑 this is the face I make every time someone says a terrestrial animal was an absolute scavenger

[@Turdfergusen382]

I love this series

[@CJ-BZ]

this is honestly amazing.

[@MrJonnyPepper]

Is that Wesley Crusher from Star Trek?

[@NormanF62]

Metatherians became extinct in South America but their marsupial relatives maintained and increased their diversity and are still with us today.

[@rogerpartner1622]

I always thought that those giant daggers were used like PITON SPIKES to spike and hang on causing horrible bleeding then bringing up there back Claws like leopards disimbowling there soft belles then munching those lungs livers and stuff. And legging it. But Big Smilodons. Had rear crushing teeth. So hung around kills munching the Tough muscle. Hmm most don’t people don’t realise. ( imagine a RAW shoulder of A SHEEP ( we cook it softer Etc ) but imagine even with sharp teeth. Tearing at a large muscle that’s full of tendons tuff veins Etc. You can’t tear away this meat quickly. You have to HUNKER down take your time chewing . Humans did not cook meat to avoid PARASITES ETC. that was an unforeseen bonus. They cooked it because human teeth cannot really tear of meat from “ say “ a large deer or god forbid a MAMMOTH. Wether we found this out after FOREST FIRES following the ash track.Eating anything left that was edible Or we started these fires. All before we put a hunk of meat under the flame. Imagine a primative would think meat under the flame belonged to the flame gods. Or all these other imagination. I think most anthropologists have got a lot of PRE HUMAN HUNTING EATING RELIGIONS ETC. BACKWARDS. . Imagine a primative world. THUNDER ROLLS LIGHTNING STRIKES FIRES STARTS GIANT TREES BURN. .. left. Over a gifts from the gods: spirits / watever. Maybe they didn’t eat these half cooked animals at first beliving they belonged to the Gods. But really hungry ones took the risk. And the rest is history . Ok. My vague version

[@rebellion795]

If thylacosmilus was scavaging who was hunting before the GABI ? Also Diprotodon was the largest marupial we k ow of, it got massive @ 2800kg for a marsupial. It would help if you left the chart up longer as you talked. Maybe reduce your profile to a little square in the corner or just voice-over

[@RaptorChatter]

There were other predators in South America at that time, most notably the terrorbirds, which became larger during the later parts of the Cenozoic. Thylacosmilus may have also been hunting still, but if it did it's just hard to say what the mechanism was.

[@barc0deblankblank]

Would the extinction criteria with regard to speciation apply to us, humans, as well? Seeing as we're the last of the hominins and are not diversifying our species, despite having such a large number of individuals.

[@RaptorChatter]

It could be. Humans are a bit of a unique case, where we live in highly modified environments, which means there's greater flexibility in survival. But at the same time there is less diversity within hominids than there was a few hundreds of thousand years ago, simply because there are fewer species.

[@barc0deblankblank]

@@RaptorChatter Thanks!

[@mmoarchives2542]

looks more related to a possum or jackel, than a cat really

[@jensphiliphohmann1876]

14:30 ff: If Thylacosmilus was a scavenger, why did it have the saberteeth? If we compare them to cheetahs which are definitely hunters, the mere scavenger hypothesis doesn't really make sense.

[@stevermacsoucher1625]

The thylacine may be making a come back.

[@Brooklyn-rj3np]

Subscribed. Awesome

[@RaptorChatter]

Thanks! And glad you like it then!

[@Valla686]

Am I the only one that thought Thylacosmilus looked like a wolf and not a cat?

[@RaptorChatter]

There were at least a few more wolf or dog like sparassodonts, so it's an easy mistake to make since it's a little studied group.

[@glory2cybertron]

I think scientists seriously underestimate fossil animals' speed, strength etc. If bears or wolverines had gone extinct millions of years ago, we'd assume they were slow scavengers that couldn't have possibly preyed on moose and deer. The main difference is that modern mammals have distinctly higher intelligence than, say, Paleocene-Eocene era ones.

[@elizabethlovejoy8529]

So I'm a toe walker like I always walk on my toes and balls of my feet I can't control it I've seen a bunch of docs the said it's an Achilles tendon thing but does that make me a digitegrade

[@RaptorChatter]

Technically yes that would be digitigrade. It's part of normal variation, just probably a more rare form of that variation. Like I only had 3 wisdom teeth, everything has variation, and tendons and foot posture are also going to be subject to that.

[@nicholashaan7345]

It was basically a Smilus which got Thylacolised.

[@alexanderhoward4833]

thylacsmilus looks like a cross between a rodent and a marsupial, possible genetic relation in its genetic lineage branch relation to marsupials and rodents

[@Dr.IanPlect]

neither

[@tolentarpay5464]

Most Australians (like me) know about Thylacenes, & a whole bunch of us also know something on the "Marsupial Lion", Thylacaleo...but Thylacosmilus? This is news to me (God - I love KZbin! So much obscure-variety!)...very comprehensive analysis. BUT, my understanding is the elongated-canines of Smilodon have been shown (by research & experimentation) to be far too fragile for using in actual hunting or fighting, & were likely reserved for delivering the "coup-de-gras" to exsanguinate a prey-animal (thru the jugular) AFTER the pack has already subdued the prey. Seems a bit overkill to me, but hey! Cats, right?

[@Corvaire]

Yeah, I was kinda deturbed when ARK had Thylo's bigger then Smiler's. Don't get me wrong, the Thylo is one of my favorites, but they need to make the Sabortooths much larger. ;O)-

[@gattycroc8073]

the sarassodonts where such a fascinating group of carnivores and I hope we get more paleo media about them. there is a reason why South America from the Paleocene to Miocene is the number one place where I want the next prehistoric documentary to take place at.

[@RaptorChatter]

It would be a great location. Close enough to now to have some similarities, but still totally alien to what is around today.

[@tyrannotherium7873]

I can’t wait to get a skull of this animal someday if it happens though which I don’t know yet and that’s going to take me for a little while

[@RaptorChatter]

If you contact the authors of the bite study they might be able to send the model to get 3d printed! www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7323715/

[@v-gc7257]

Great presentation. Hybrid indeed

[@jthomas8263]

Callaghan, 🦖🇨🇳 Ancient eggshells show Dinosaurs already dying out before asteroid strike, Chinese scientists say.