The complete genome of a species of saber-toothed cat that lived during the Pleistocene has been mapped, giving researchers clues about the predator’s lifestyle, including the way it hunted. Homotherium latidens, also known as the scimitar-toothed cat, would chase their prey relentlessly until they were felled by exhaustion, according to findings published in Current Biology.
The researchers also found that Homotherium and modern cats diverged from a common ancestor a very long time ago—around 22.5 million years ago. By comparison, humans and gibbons split apart from a common ancestor some 15 million to 20 million years ago. It should be no surprise, then, that such vast differences appear in saber-toothed cats compared to modern lions, with the former appearing like some kind of bear-hyena-lion hybrid. click title above to read more.
