José Ignacio Muro Morales

El cambio de ideas acerca de la evolución y morfología functional de los félidos Machairodontinos

Sabre-toothed felids, the machairodontines, have attracted much attention among palaeontologists for many decades, not only because of their spectacular morphology but also because they are a striking example of convergent evolution that is most probably linked to strong selective pressures. In this paper we provide a summary of the changing interpretations of their functional anatomy and evolution, from early hypotheses proposing a stabbing mode of attack and a pleiotropic control of the complex of machairodont morphologies, to the current views favouring the canine shear-bite model and a mosaic evolution of anatomical features.

Anatomía comparada de los senos frontales en el félido dientes de sable primitivo Promegantereon ogygia (Felidae, Machairodontinae) y felinos actuales de tamaño similar

In the present work, the frontal sinuses of the sabre-toothed felid Promegantereon ogygia are analysed, in comparison to those of the extant felines Acinonyx jubatus, Puma conocolor and Panthera pardus, of similar body weight. The study was carried out using 3D virtual models obtained from CT Scan images, a non-destructive technique that has revealed as a powerful tool for accessing to all kind of intracranial information. Our study shows that the frontal sinuses of P. ogygia were more similar to those of P. concolor, both in the presence of several struts reinforcing the dorsal part, and in the development of a remarkable caudal expansion. This caudal expansion would act as a thermal insulator of the brain, and would indicate a more open environment than previously supposed for this species, whereas the struts would be related to biomechanical stresses produced during the “canine shear-bite”, the killing method of the machairodontines.

La fotogrametría terrestre en España (1914-1958)

The terrestrial photogrammetry in Spain (1914-1958).- The terrestrial photogrammetry innovated the traditional topographical techniques in the fields operat...

Presencia del bóvido Austroportax en el yacimiento mioceno de Batallones-1 (MN 10, cuenca de Madrid, España)

Bovid fossils constitute rare findings in the Cerro de los Batallones fossil sites. However, maxillar and mandibular remains of a juvenile individual of a large-sized bovid were discovered in Batallones-1. In the present work, we describe these fossils and assign them to the Eurpoean genus Austroportax (Sickenberg, 1829). We name these fossils as Austroportax sp. due to the lack of more diagnostic additional material belonging to this form.