El cambio de ideas acerca de la evolución y morfología functional de los félidos Machairodontinos

• Autores: A. Turner, M. Antón, Manuel Jesús Salesa Calvo, Jorge Morales Romero
• Localización: Estudios geológicos, ISSN 0367-0449, Vol. 67, Nº 2, 2011, págs. 255-276
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Sabre-toothed felids, the machairodontines, have attracted much attention among palaeontologists for many decades, not only because of their spectacular morphology but also because they are a striking example of convergent evolution that is most probably linked to strong selective pressures. In this paper we provide a summary of the changing interpretations of their functional anatomy and evolution, from early hypotheses proposing a stabbing mode of attack and a pleiotropic control of the complex of machairodont morphologies, to the current views favouring the canine shear-bite model and a mosaic evolution of anatomical features.