RT Journal Article
T1 New insights on the ecology and behavior of Machairodus aphanistus (Carnivora, Felidae, Machairodontinae) through the paleopathological study of the fossil sample from the Late Miocene (Vallesian, MN 10) of Cerro de los Batallones (Torrejón de Velasco, Madrid, Spain)
A1 Salesa Calvo, Manuel Jesús
A1 Hernández, Bárbara
A1 Marín García, María Del Pilar
A1 Siliceo, Gema
A1 Martínez, Irene
A1 Antón, Mauricio
A1 García Real, María Isabel
A1 Pastor, Juan Francisco
A1 García Fernández, Rosa Ana
AB The Late Miocene natural traps of Cerro de los Batallones (Madrid, Spain) have yielded thousands of fossils of vertebrates, mostly carnivoran mammals such as hyaenids, amphicyonids, ailurids, mustelids, ursids, and felids, especially Batallones-1 and Batallones-3. Among these carnivorans, the tiger-sized saber-toothed felid Machairodus aphanistus was the top predator of the association, and one of the most abundant taxa, represented by thousands of fossils, including several examples of bone pathologies that have never been studied. In this work, we carry out a paleopathological analysis of some of these pathologies from the Batallones sample of this large early machairodontine, with a description of the pathological changes that occurred in the affected bones, a possible diagnosis, and the ethological and ecological consequences of the presence of these diseases in the living animal. The pathological sample of M. aphanistus studied here included a calcaneus and a Mc III from Batallones-1, and a mandible from Batallones-3. The fossils were X-rayed, and their pathologies were described and compared to non-pathological bones. The calcaneus showed a bone callus indicative of osteitis/osteomyelitis or a tumor; the mandible had evidence of the development of an abscess located in the left mandibular body; and the Mc III shows a marked osteosclerosis. These injuries affected the hunting ability of these individuals and gradually weakened them, very likely contributing to their final entrapment in the Batallones cavities, where they were attracted by the presence of previously trapped animals.
PB Springer
SN 1064-7554
YR 2024
FD 2024-05-31
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/104801
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/104801
LA eng
NO Salesa, M.J., Hernández, B., Marín, P. et al. New insights on the ecology and behavior of Machairodus aphanistus (Carnivora, Felidae, Machairodontinae) through the paleopathological study of the fossil sample from the Late Miocene (Vallesian, MN 10) of Cerro de los Batallones (Torrejón de Velasco, Madrid, Spain). J Mammal Evol 31, 21 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-024-09721-8
NO 2024 Acuerdos transformativos CRUE
NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 22 jul 2024