There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
(06-26-2016, 11:22 AM)Polar Wrote: So I am guessing 500-600 pounds for the Wanhsien Tiger should be a good average estimate?
I will guess that about 500 lb - 227 kg would be correct, which is more than modern Amur-Bengal tigers, with figures of 204 kg and 213 kg respectively (old and modern records).
Like Tigerluver said, dentition probably is not the best predictor of weight, however, like Dr Van Valkeburgh mentions, most of the mammal fossils consist only of dentition, and very few have some long bone or skull for comparison.
For example, we don't have to much problems in estimate the weight and size of the Ngandong tiger, because we know a complete skull and we have other complete long bones to compare with modern tigers. However, in China, most of the tiger fossils are just fragments of skulls and mandibles with (if you are lucky) some dentition. In this case, the formulas of Van Valkerburg or Legendre & Roth are the best that we have.
Personally, I trust more in Legendre & Roth, as some results that I have obtained with modern tiger dentition fit very well with the recorded weights.