Computed tomography reveals hip dysplasia in the extinct Pleistocene saber-tooth cat Smilodon.

ABSTRACT: Reconstructing the behavior of extinct species is challenging, particularly for those with no living analogues. However, damage preserved as paleopathologies on bone can record how an animal moved in life, potentially reflecting behavioral patterns. Here, we assess hypothesized etiologies of pathology in a pelvis and associated right femur of a Smilodon fatalis saber-toothed cat, one of the best-studied species from the Pleistocene-age Rancho La Brea asphalt seeps, California, USA, using visualization by computed tomography (CT). The pelvis exhibits massive destruction of the right hip socket that was interpreted, for nearly a century, to have developed from trauma and infection. CT imaging reveals instead that the pathological distortions characterize chronic remodeling that began at birt

SUBMITTER: Balisi MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8553773 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature