Strange that ancient monsters bite painlessly with cats

Thylacosmilus atrox, a predator, has an extremely scary appearance, but in fact its bite is weaker than a cat . cat.

The Thylacosmilus atrox of the cat family, a beast that lived 3.5 million years ago, always frightens animals that live in the South American territory with their threatening blade-shaped teeth. .

However, according to ancient paleontologists, despite such fierce appearance, Thylacosmilus atrox cannot be proud of his jaws.

To prove this, Dr. Stephen Wroe of the University of New South Wales, Australia and his Australian and American colleagues created computer models of Smilodon (domestic cats) and Thylacosmilus. People tested on these models the ability to bite and kill of two species.

Although there are sharp teeth that look very scary, but the bite of the Thylacosmilus atrox is not as strong as a cat.

'Frankly, the jaws of Thylacosmilus atrox are very bad. Although there is a large jaw, the biting force of this 100kg beast is not as strong as a domestic cat, 'said Dr Stephen Wroe of the University of New South Wales, Australia.

Experts say this carnivore is forced to use its front legs to keep its prey fixed. When the prey has been pressed to the ground, Thylacosmilus atrox will use neck muscles to plug its long teeth into the prey arteries or trachea.

Since the teeth of this species are very fragile, bringing the prey to the cave requires absolute accuracy.