Anatomía comparada de los senos frontales en el félido dientes de sable primitivo Promegantereon ogygia (Felidae, Machairodontinae) y felinos actuales de tamaño similar

• Autores: Gema Siliceo, Manuel Jesús Salesa Calvo, M. Antón, J. F. Pastor, Jorge Morales Romero
• Localización: Estudios geológicos, ISSN 0367-0449, Vol. 67, Nº 2, 2011, págs. 277-290
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • In the present work, the frontal sinuses of the sabre-toothed felid Promegantereon ogygia are analysed, in comparison to those of the extant felines Acinonyx jubatus, Puma conocolor and Panthera pardus, of similar body weight. The study was carried out using 3D virtual models obtained from CT Scan images, a non-destructive technique that has revealed as a powerful tool for accessing to all kind of intracranial information. Our study shows that the frontal sinuses of P. ogygia were more similar to those of P. concolor, both in the presence of several struts reinforcing the dorsal part, and in the development of a remarkable caudal expansion. This caudal expansion would act as a thermal insulator of the brain, and would indicate a more open environment than previously supposed for this species, whereas the struts would be related to biomechanical stresses produced during the �canine shear-bite�, the killing method of the machairodontines.