Extinct otter-like 'marine bear' might have had a bite like a saber-toothed cat

Biomechanical modeling suggests that Kolponomos likely used anchor-biting to pry hard-shelled invertebrates

Date: March 1, 2016

Source: American Museum of Natural History

New research suggests that the feeding strategy of Kolponomos, an enigmatic shell-crushing marine predator that lived about 20 million years ago, was strangely similar to a very different kind of carnivore: the saber-toothed cat Smilodon. Scientists at the American Museum of Natural History used high-resolution x-ray imaging and computerized biting simulations to show that even though the two extinct predators likely contrasted greatly in food preference and environment, they shared similar engineering in jaw structure, suitable for anchoring against prey with the lower jaw and forcefully throwing the skull forward to pry loose its food. The study is published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The only known specimens of Kolponomos--primarily skulls and teeth of two species--were recovered from ancient marine deposits along the Pacific coast of Oregon, Washington, and possibly Alaska. Because of its peculiar morphology and the small number of fossils, the animal's place in the evolutionary tree remains a mystery.

"When Kolponomos was first described in the 1960s, it was thought to be a raccoon relative," said Camille Grohé, a National Science Foundation and Frick Postdoctoral Fellow in the American Museum of Natural History's Division of Paleontology and a co-author on the new paper. "But later research on the skull base led some to think it might be a seal or a bear relative instead, and studies of its teeth show that they are very similar in both shape and wear to the teeth in sea otters."

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