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.
06-28-2014, 08:53 AM( This post was last modified: 06-28-2014, 10:32 PM by tigerluver )
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Smilodon has no modern counterpart, thus I'm still figuring out some way to do a full dimensional estimate.
The difference in the tiger's weight is intriguing. The main reason I'm theorizing is the difference between wild and captive specimens. Furthermore, only the most well off areas (areas with lots of large game) could produce tigers of the greatest length, thus encouraging more bulk as well. Prehistoric cats probably did not have to worry about food, unlike modern Amur tigers (probably the cause of this subspecies lankiness).
The P. spelaea group downsized a whole using a full dimensional estimate. The reason here is that I reconstructed the body based on lion's data, as I found from Diedrich (2011), modern lions have the most similar bone ratios.
I used the tiger data to produce masses for the full dimensional estimate, giving all species the benefit of the doubt of whether they were as bulky as tigers or not.
Thoughts?