02619nas a2200289 4500008004100000022001300041245006600054210006500120300000800185490000700193520182900200653001402029653002102043653002002064653001002084653001202094653001402106653001602120653001302136653001502149653002002164100002102184700002002205700001502225700002202240856006702262 2021 eng d a0960982200aDietary ecology of the scimitar-toothed cat Homotherium serum0 aDietary ecology of the scimitartoothed cat Homotherium serum a1-80 v313 a

The scimitar-toothed cat Homotherium was one of the most cosmopolitan cats of the Pleistocene, present throughout Eurasia, Africa, and the Americas until at least ~28 thousand years ago. Friesenhahn Cave (Bexar County, Texas) contains some of the best-preserved specimens of Homotherium serum alongside an abundance of juvenile mammoths, leading some to argue that H. serum preferentially hunted juvenile mammoths.Dietary data of Homotherium are rare, with their ecology inferred from morphological, taphonomic, and genetic data. Here, we use a multi-proxy approach to clarify the dietary ecology of H. serum as compared to extinct and extant cats and their relatives. Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) reveals that H. serum consumed soft and tough foods, similar to the extant cheetah, which actively avoids bone, but in stark contrast to extant lions and hyenas, which are observed to engage in durophagy (i.e., bone processing). DMTA data are consistent with taphonomic evidence of bone defleshing and the absence of bone-crunching behavior in H. serum. Stable carbon isotope values of H. serum indicate a clear preference for C4 grazers including juvenile mammoths, in agreement with taphonomic evidence suggestive of a Homotherium den and morphological data indicative of a relatively cursorial lifestyle. Notably, the inferred diet of H. serum contrasts with the extinct dirk-tooth sabertooth cat Smilodon fatalis, which preferred forest/woodland prey and engaged in bone processing. Homotherium serum exhibited a novel combination of morphological adaptations for acquiring open-country prey, consuming their soft and tough flesh—including the tough flesh of juvenile mammoths.

10acarnivore10adental microwear10adietary ecology10afelid10amammoth10aMammuthus10aPleistocene10aPredator10asabertooth10aStable isotopes1 aDeSantis, L.R.G.1 aFeranec, R., S.1 aAntón, M.1 aLundelius, E., L. uhttps://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0960982221004346