New research suggests that saber-toothed cats were sick and messy before they became extinct

Whether you wake up to a saliva-soaked tape draped over a person’s face or… Unfortunately, the mouse was slaughtered ‘Gifted’ in one’s soles Anyone who has been close to a cat can attest that their little tiger is evolutionarily designed to hunt.

Domestic cat Distantly related ancestorswhich separated from the ancestors of modern tigers and cats 20 million years ago, were significantly more terrifying.

It weighs up to 600 pounds (270 kg), Smilodon is deadly He was part “cat” and part cruise missile: a saber-toothed ambush hunter.

In fact, its Greco-Latin name means something like “murderous knife-tooth,” due to the fearsome killing fangs mounted in its jaws.

However, in a recent study published in Frontiers in veterinary scienceResearchers have found evidence that this powerful predator may have interbred and developed spinal deformities before exiting the evolutionary stage at the end of the year. The last ice ageabout 12,000 years ago.

The researchers used visual methods and Computed tomography (CT) scan. To examine more than 3700 vertebrae – including no less than 849 vertebrae Saint fatal Individuals – They look for signs of trauma, disease, and genetic defects.

These animals died and their skeletal remains were preserved in the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, which may have been “The richest Ice Age fossil site in the world“.

These tar pits have become favorites of popular media, appearing in popular, and perhaps not-so-iconic, series like The Flintstones and The Simpsons. Slapstick comedy of the twentieth century Starring former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr as “Caveman.”

The tar pits were also very deadly.

“The tar leak served as a trap for carnivores,” the researchers said. He explains. “Large herbivores that inadvertently become mired in asphalt will attract large carnivores and scavengers, which themselves will become trapped in large numbers.”

the Saint fatal The vertebrae revealed various and sometimes severe diseases, including many hints of chronic inflammatory disease. In addition, they showed more than 200 congenital spinal anomalies and nearly 50 fused vertebrae, as well as signs of abnormal bone growth and skeletal collapse.

The researchers also identified the lumbar vertebrae (the part of the lower back between the rib cage and the pelvis) from three different individuals who had signs of spinal nerve tumors (SNTs), which may result from genetic mutations.

Three may not seem like a lot.

But for the samples examined in this work, the researchers estimate the prevalence of SNT at 353 per 100,000 individuals. This is much higher than the highest estimate of infection rates in humans, which is just 0.38 per 100,000 people, the researchers say. Note.

The consequences of this Congenital malformations It would have been disastrous for the population facing decline.

For comparison, most humans with SNTs feel pain. In dogs, these tumors also often cause pain, along with muscle wasting and lameness, factors that would greatly affect the hunting abilities of older animals.

Perhaps this is why we see hundreds of… Smilodon Samples in the tar pits.

An animal with reduced function and disabilities may have licked its chops (and taken away some discretion) at the sight of the huge, juicy herbivore struggling to rid itself of its bubbling black tar baths.

Although well supported by physical evidence, the inbreeding scenario may be impossible to prove without DNA analysis. Unfortunately, “as is the case with all fossils from the LBTPM, soft tissues are not preserved,” the researchers say. Note.

However, this presents worrying consequences in the modern era, where animal populations are under multifaceted threats Climate changeEnvironmental encroachment and habitat loss.

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“There is evidence that due to significant population declines, there was an increase in inbreeding in mammals at the end of the Ice Age, with various health consequences,” the researchers said. concludeExplaining that this issue was not exclusive to Saint fatal:

“Analysis of mammoth DNA found in permafrost revealed a high degree of… Consanguineous marriage Before they become extinct, which may cause serious diseases such as Diabetes Disease and sensory deficit.”

This research was published in Frontiers in veterinary science.