Pound for pound, Australia's extinct marsupial lion (Thylacoleo
carnifex) would have made mince meat of today's African lion (Panthera
leo) had the two big hyper-carnivores ever squared off in a fight to
the death, according to an Australian scientist.
New research
published in the Journal of Zoology suggests that Thylacoleo killed
prey rapidly, using its "bolt-cutter" type teeth to scissor through
hide and flesh to produce major trauma and blood loss.
By contrast, African lions and similar big cats of today use their bite
force to suffocate prey, using a "clamp and hold" technique that can
take up to 15 minutes with large prey such as Cape buffalo.
"My
results suggest that the marsupial lion employed a unique killing
technique," says research author Stephen Wroe. "It used its massive
carnassial cheekteeth to effect major trauma and a rapid kill. Unlike
any living mammalian carnivores, the marsupial's carnassials were not
only butchery tools but also active components in the killing process."
Using
a sophisticated computer modelling method [finite element (FE)
analysis], that renders dynamic 3D models based on CT scans of the
marsupial's cranial mechanics and musculoskeletal architecture, Wroe
has revealed that the creature's skull, jaw, and head and neck muscles
were well adapted to using the unique technique for killing large prey,
but not for delivering the prolonged suffocating bite of living big
cats.
"The marsupial lion also had an extremely efficient bite,"
Wroe says. "In addition to very powerful jaw muscles for its size, its
muscle and skull architecture were arranged in such a way as to take
greater advantage of leverage than in living cats."
Wroe, who
has published findings about bite force in other hypercarnivores, such
as great white sharks and sabre tooth tigers, believes there is now no
doubt that Australia's marsupial lion was a fearsome predator that
punched well above its weight.
"Certainly, T carnifex was
seriously over-engineered for dispatching small prey. These new
findings support the conclusion that the creature regularly preyed on
relatively large species and was able to effect quick kills and
withstand large forces generated by large struggling prey.
"Hypothetically,
had a large marsupial lion ever come face to face with an African lion
of similar size, it could have use its deadly cheek teeth and
incredibly powerful arms to inflict mortal wounds on the mammal," Wroe
says. "Had it not become extinct, it might now hold top spot over
toady's 'king of the jungle.'"
University of New South Wales. January 2008.
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