An exciting discovery in the field of paleontology was announced by an international investigation led by the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM). Two new species of Saber-toothed tigers were discovered in a collection of Pliocene fossils at Langebaanweg, north of Cape Town, South Africa, according to the University’s Scientific Culture Unit.
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The study, the results of which have been published in iSciencehas revealed that the ancient distribution of these iconic predators it might have been different than previously assumed.
Saber-toothed tigers, known for their characteristic hyperdeveloped upper canines, they began to roam Africa about 7-6 million years ago, coinciding with the evolution of hominids, including modern humans.
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The research paper provided details on four species in total. Among them, two are completely new to science. The two new species identified are ‘Dinofelis werdelini’ and ‘Lokotunjailurus chimsamyae’.
The ‘Dinofelis’ was already known globally, with its fossils found in different parts of Africa, China, Europe and North America. On the other hand, ‘Lokotunjailurus’ had only been previously identified in Kenya and Chad, before this analysis.
The discovery suggests that this species was present in practically the entire African continent between 7 and 5 million years ago, during the end of the Late Miocene and the beginning of the Pliocene.
To build the family tree and determine the kinship relationships between the species, the researchers carefully analyzed the physical traits of each saber-toothed species, such as the presence and structure of the teeth, the shape of the jaw, and the skull. This information was encoded in a matrix and subjected to advanced phylogenetic analyses.
In addition to the important implications for understanding the evolution of these extinct majestic cats, the study has also provided clues about the ancient environment in which they lived. The Langebaanweg assemblage, which included saber-toothed tigers and other cats such as Machairodontini, Metailurini and Felinae, seems have reflected the environmental changes associated with the Pliocene epoch and rising global temperatures.
In particular, the presence of certain Machairodontini (Lokotunjailurus), adapted to running and larger, has suggested the existence of open grassland environments on the Langebaanweg. However, the Metalaurini (Dinofelis) indicate the presence of more covered environments, such as forests.
The discovery has also revealed striking similarities to fossils found in Yuanmou, China. The saber-toothed tiger ‘Longchuansmilus’ of Yuanmou seems to have a close evolutionary relationship with the African species of ‘Lokotunjailurus’, suggesting a possible connection between the two regions during the Mio-Pliocene.
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Curator and paleontologist at the Iziko Museum in South Africa, Romala Govender, stressed that the two new saber-toothed tigers are just a sample of the many previously unpublished fossils found in the Collections from the Cenozoic on the Langebaanweg, housed in the Iziko Museum.
EUROPE PRESS
*This content was rewritten with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on information from the aforementioned agency, and was reviewed by a journalist and an editor.
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