Machairodontinae - Purpose of The Canines

Purpose of The Canines

One of the biggest questions about this predator's biology remains up in the air: how did the living and real animal use those teeth? Though the public seemed to attach itself to the idea of the long canines, scientifically, it was not well known exactly what they were used for. When considered, they seem only to get in the way, so their enigma has brought up a number of concepts, each with its flaws and its plausibilities, on how the cat with the caricaturish canines actually killed. Numerous hypotheses have been suggested. Some have been turned down and are no longer considered viable. Other have withheld criticism recently, but none have escaped notable problems, varying in degree of severity. The main modern hypotheses circulating about exactly what these infamous canines were used for, if for hunting at all, are not substantiated in a strong factual basis: they lend themselves more to ideas which might be tested to be more or less probable but never, it would appear, proven with hard evidence. Each still entertained by biologists have their pros and their cons. Some are more probable than others. This section will list their description, their pros, and their cons, each in a distinctive paragraph.