Wouldn't it make sense to assume that as the size of the population decreases, perhaps for external factors such as climate change, you are going to see more and more inbreeding?
I think the study makes a giant presumptive leap to assume inbreeding was the cause of the higher-than-modern-human incidences of spinal tumors. It's irresponsible to assert this to be true instead of one of several possible explanations.
Cats don't really chew much anyway. If sabre-tooths have a rough tongue like other cats, they can probably scour flesh off bones with that with little need to work over the meat with their teeth.
Is that actually true? If you observe domestic cats feeding, they chew a lot. Small fragments at a time and chew the crap out of it. Whether that's also true for big cats, i don't know.
>They don't stop the mouth from closing. Presumably they don't stop it from opening either.
That much is obvious. The question is how they get around sabre tooth without being a major obstruction to bite pieces of meat off.
As for the other animals, Elephants mostly use their trunks to put food in their mouths. Pigs, their teeth are not that huge comparatively speaking and less of an obstruction, plus the have a very long snouts. Walruses, I have no idea how they manage to feed either.
Another predator that went through a genetic choke point. Cheetahs did, too.[1]
Cheetahs survived, but they are so similar genetically that they get the same illnesses, and skin grafts between unrelated cheetahs are not rejected.
Wouldn't it make sense to assume that as the size of the population decreases, perhaps for external factors such as climate change, you are going to see more and more inbreeding?
I think the study makes a giant presumptive leap to assume inbreeding was the cause of the higher-than-modern-human incidences of spinal tumors. It's irresponsible to assert this to be true instead of one of several possible explanations.
The study and the summary do not "assume" that the cause was inbreeding. They both assert that inbreeding could be a cause.
The article says "The team suspects these deformities and tumors indicate a lengthy history of inbreeding".
The paper abstract says "possibly because of an accumulation of expressed deleterious alleles that caused disturbances in developmental processes".
It's perfectly ok for scientists to write down and publish their speculation, as long as it's suffiently clear. I think it's quite clear in this case.
An assertion without conclusive evidence is an assumption.
They are not asserting a fact. They are asserting a possibility. Asserting a possibility is not an assumption.
Seems like there's also a sampling bias, where the less able-bodied animals are more likely to get trapped in tar for scientists to study.
Yep. For instance it could be from higher cosmic ray penetration into the earth during the last geomagnetic excursion.
I was always puzzled how these cats actually fed. These sabre toots seem to get in the way of feeding and chewing.
Cats don't really chew much anyway. If sabre-tooths have a rough tongue like other cats, they can probably scour flesh off bones with that with little need to work over the meat with their teeth.
>Cats don't really chew much anyway.
Is that actually true? If you observe domestic cats feeding, they chew a lot. Small fragments at a time and chew the crap out of it. Whether that's also true for big cats, i don't know.
My cats only chew hard things like kibble, but never chew their wet food, and if given meat or fish, they tear and swallow without chewing.
I know I'd certainly be discouraged from feeding if I got the sabre toots.
> These sabre toots seem to get in the way of feeding and chewing.
Why? They don't stop the mouth from closing. Presumably they don't stop it from opening either.
Compare walruses, elephants, and pigs.
>They don't stop the mouth from closing. Presumably they don't stop it from opening either.
That much is obvious. The question is how they get around sabre tooth without being a major obstruction to bite pieces of meat off.
As for the other animals, Elephants mostly use their trunks to put food in their mouths. Pigs, their teeth are not that huge comparatively speaking and less of an obstruction, plus the have a very long snouts. Walruses, I have no idea how they manage to feed either.
> Compare walruses, elephants, and pigs.
Three animals that are well known for their apex predator hunting prowess
Was the question more about ability to hunt, or ability to chew?
It goes hand-in-hand when you're comparing these kinds of animals.
Another predator that went through a genetic choke point. Cheetahs did, too.[1] Cheetahs survived, but they are so similar genetically that they get the same illnesses, and skin grafts between unrelated cheetahs are not rejected.
[1] https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/108/6/671/3836924
No worries, they'll evolve again. Like crab-form, it has happened multiple times: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saber-toothed_predator#Evoluti...