The saber-toothed cat, Smilodon fatalis and American lion,
Panthera atrox were among the largest of the Pleistocene terrestrial
carnivores; these, along with other megfauna were extinct by
,12,000 years ago [1]. The cause of the terminal Pleistocene
extinctions is debated, with potential extinction hypotheses
including climate change, human overkill, and the synergistic
combination of human effects (both direct and indirect) during
a time of interglacial warming in North America (e.g., [1–4]).
While large carnivores like S. fatalis and P. atrox are unlikely to have
been directly hunted to extinction by humans, they were likely
vulnerable given competition with humans for prey species [4]. It
has been noted that when prey resources are limited, carnivores
often consume carcasses more thoroughly and engage in
durophagy (i.e., the processing of bone) [5–6]. Thus, we
hypothesize that if prey became scarcer (either due to humans
entering the carnivore guild or climate change, or both),
competition might have forced large-bodied cats to consume both
soft/tough tissues and less-preferred, harder bone.
The saber-toothed cat, Smilodon fatalis and American lion,Panthera atrox were among the largest of the Pleistocene terrestrialcarnivores; these, along with other megfauna were extinct by,12,000 years ago [1]. The cause of the terminal Pleistoceneextinctions is debated, with potential extinction hypothesesincluding climate change, human overkill, and the synergisticcombination of human effects (both direct and indirect) duringa time of interglacial warming in North America (e.g., [1–4]).While large carnivores like S. fatalis and P. atrox are unlikely to havebeen directly hunted to extinction by humans, they were likelyvulnerable given competition with humans for prey species [4]. Ithas been noted that when prey resources are limited, carnivoresoften consume carcasses more thoroughly and engage indurophagy (i.e., the processing of bone) [5–6]. Thus, wehypothesize that if prey became scarcer (either due to humansentering the carnivore guild or climate change, or both),competition might have forced large-bodied cats to consume bothsoft/tough tissues and less-preferred, harder bone.
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