记恐剑齿虎——头骨及剑齿虎镶嵌进化中体型巨大化的新证据（英文）  

A skull of Machairodus horribilis and new evidence for gigantism as a mode of mosaic evolution in machairodonts (Felidae, Carnivora)

作　　者：邓涛[1,2,3] 张云翔[3] 曾志杰 侯素宽[1] 

机构地区：[1]中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所,中国科学院脊椎动物演化与人类起源重点实验室,北京100044 [2]中国科学院青藏高原地球科学卓越创新中心,北京100101 [3]西北大学地质系,西安710069 [4]美国自然历史博物馆古生物部,纽约NY 10024

出　　处：《古脊椎动物学报》2016年第4期302-318,共17页Vertebrata Palasiatica

基　　金：国家自然科学基金重点项目(批准号:41430102);国家重点基础研究发展计划项目(编号:2012CB821906);中国科学院战略性先导科技专项(编号:XDB03020104)资助

摘　　要：剑齿虎是一类绝灭的食肉目动物,由于其独特的牙齿形态代表了已完全消失的特化取食方式而引起了极大的关注和争论。一些剑齿虎是狮子体型或老虎体型的食肉动物,它们被广泛认为能够比其不具剑形犬齿的现代近亲捕杀更大和更强壮的猎物。本文报道在甘肃省晚中新世地层中发现的一具属于恐剑齿虎(Machairodus horribilis)的大型头骨。这件标本的一些特征与进步的剑齿虎相同,但在某些头骨性状上则与现生的豹亚科种类相似。不同于其他大多数剑齿虎,功能形态分析指示该剑齿虎的口部张开程度受到限制,因此只能捕猎相对较小的猎物。这具头骨的解剖特征为证明即使在最大的具剑形犬齿的食肉目动物中也存在捕猎咬杀方式的多样性提供了新的证据,并揭示了在剑齿虎中导致功能和形态多样性镶嵌进化的另一种机制。Sabertooth cats were extinct carnivorans that have attracted great attention and controversy because of their unique dental morphology representing an entirely extinct mode of feeding specialization. Some of them are lion-sized or tiger-sized carnivorans who are widely interpreted as hunters of larger and more powerful preys than those of their modem nonsabertoothed relatives. We report the discovery of a large sabertooth cat skull of Machairodus horribilis from the Late Miocene of northwestern China. It shares some characteristics with derived sabertooth cats, but also is similar to extant pantherines in some cranial characters. A functional morphological analysis suggests that it differed from most other machairodont felids and had a limited gape to hunt smaller preys. Its anatomical features provide new evidence for the diversity of killing bites even within in the largest saber-toothed carnivorans and offer an additional mechanism for the mosaic evolution leading to functional and morphological diversity in sabertooth cats.

关 键 词：甘肃 晚中新世 剑齿虎 头骨 捕猎行为 

分 类 号：Q915.874[天文地球—古生物学与地层学]