Saqraphuma

The Saqraphuma (Thylacosmilus atrox; Quechua for "evil lion") is an extinct genus of saber-toothed metatherian mammals that inhabited South America from the Late Miocene to Pliocene epochs.

Etymology

Saqraphuma is a Quechua word: saqra "evil" and puma "lion" or "cougar".

In 1933, the American paleontologist Elmer S. Riggs named and preliminarily described the new genus Thylacosmilus based on these specimens, while noting that a full description was being prepared and would be published at a later date. The generic name Thylacosmilus means "pouch knife", while the specific name atrox means "cruel".

Physical Appearance

Thylacosmilus bears a resemblance to "saber-toothed cats" in appearance; however, unlike the well-known Smilodon of North America, it was a sparassodont, a group closely related to marsupials, and shared only a superficial resemblance with other saber-toothed mammals as a result of convergent evolution.

Recent methods, like Ercoli and Prevosti (2011) linear regressions on postcranial elements that directly support the body's weight (such as tibiae, humeri and ulnae), comparing Thylacosmilus to both extinct and modern carnivorans and metatherians, suggest that it weighed between 80 and 120 kilograms (180 and 260 lb), with one estimate suggesting up to 150 kg (330 lb), about the same size as a modern jaguar.

Thylacosmilus had large, saber-like canines. The roots of these canines grew throughout the animal's life, growing in an arc up the maxilla and above the orbits. Thylacosmilus teeth are in many aspects even more specialized than the teeth of other saber toothed predators. In these animals the predatory function of the "sabres" gave rise to a specialization of the general dentition, in which some teeth were reduced or lost. In Thylacosmilus the canines are relatively longer and more slender, relatively triangular in cross-section, in contrast with the oval shape of carnivorans' saber-like canines.

Its cervical vertebrae were very strong and to some extent resembled the vertebrae of Machairodontinae; also the cervical vertebrae have neural apophysis well developed, along with ventral apophysis in some cervicals, an element that is characteristic of other borhyaenoids. The lumbar vertebrae are short and more rigid than in Prothylacynus. The bones of the limbs, like the humerus and femur, are very robust, since they probably had to deal with larger forces than in the modern felids.

Abilities

Specifically, the humerus of Thylacosmilus's characteristics point to a highly developed pectoral and deltoid muscle, which is needed to both catch and absorb the energy of a collision with prey.

According to recent comparative biomechanical analysis, Thylacosmilus's bite force was estimated to be 38 newtons (8.5 lbf) at its maximum gape, which is significantly less than a leopard's bite force. This suggests that the jaw muscles of the animal played a minor role in dispatching its prey.

Weather Phenomenon

Wildfire: ugh.

Ecology

Using landmarks in the skulls of several eutherian and metatherian meat-eating lineages, they compared the ecomorphological convergences in these groups. Metatherian lineages, including specialised forms as Thylacoleo and Thylacosmilus, showed values in morphospace more similar to caniniforms than felids, due that even the shortening of the skull and reduction of postcanine teeth are not so drastic as in felids, despite them often being compared to feliform eutherians. The study shows that in any case, metatherians could be so diverse in cranial diversity as its eutherian counterparts, even with very extreme forms as Thylacosmilus itself and that the metatherian development doesn't have any significative role in cranial evolution.

Behavior

ugh.

Distribution and Habitat

The Thylacosmilus inhabited South America from the Late Miocene to Pliocene epochs. Remains of Thylacosmilus have been found primarily in Catamarca, Entre Ríos, and La Pampa Provinces in northern Argentina.

Movement Pattern: Random
Individual Type: Solo/Group
Population Trend: Stable
Population: 0
Locomotion: Terrestrial
Habitat: All
Earth: Argentina; Brazil; Chile
Berbania: Zowhringe
Reinachos: Thrymr's Islands
Sawintir: ???