Homotherium: The Cat That Took Over the World
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 พ.ค. 2024
- Thank you to Wondrium for sponsoring today’s video! Signup for your FREE trial to Wondrium here: ow.ly/u86S50O5nvS
Intro 0:00
Not the “Same Beast” 4:09
Secret to Success 7:56
New Frontiers 13:09
End of the Line 17:21
Extinction 19:34
Conclusion 23:00
#paleoanalysis #iceage #pleistocene #sabertoothcat #homotherium
We have already talked about Smilodon, the famous sabertooth cat in a video before, but the thing is that is only one branch of the family of these amazing predators. Of all the Machairodontids there is one that I feel we really need to cover, Homotherium!
It may not have been as large as its more famous relative, but this cat was possibly the most successful sabertooth cat to ever live. spreading to every continent on Earth except Australia and Antarctica! So join me as we tell the story of the sabertooth cat that took over the world!
If you would like to vote on future Patreon poll videos, you can join the Cyanobacteria Army and help spread the glory of the goo!
/ paleoanalysis
Check out My Linktree to join me on social media!:
linktr.ee/PaleoAnalysis
Most of my music has been provided by MehoDrums. If you enjoy any of the tunes in my background or into, check out some of his other stuff and contact him if you want to have him compose some stuff for you!
linktr.ee/MehoDrums?fbclid=Iw...
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
A cat named “same beast” that wasn’t at all like other cats, spread across the globe using pursuit and bleed tactics like canids, and it dominated the biggest biome as an apex predator in the last great epoch. Very underrated and underrepresented animal.
ni**A WTF is familiar beast , i searched it up and got lolicon instead
@@atul7115 Homos: same. Therium: beast. Are you educated whatsoever in any topic?
@@atul7115 YOU GOT WHAT?!!
@@the_bohemian4536 testicular cancer
@@atul7115 probably the search algorithm taking into account your previous searches.
The name Homotherium makes sense when you consider what it must of have been like for earlier paleontologist who found this strange big cat all over the world. Every conference they go to they start describing it and scientists from other parts of the world are like “what! I found the same beast here as well!”
This would definitely explain it 😼
The word "homoios" can actually mean "shared" as well. As in, a beast that is shared among all the continents.
@@corvus_dano, it doesn't appear on all continents at all.
@@1977jelliott You're right, I was being imprecise. It does, however, appear on 5/6 continents inhabited by humans.
@@corvus_da yeh I gathered that, also, there are 7 inhabited continents 😵💫
Always love looking at underappreciated extinct animals.
I like the tiny horses
It would be cool to see a video about that shovel mouthed elephant
Is it sexual?
The panthera shawi
@@bricksloth6920 Eocene Horses are a huge fave of mine too. I don't love modern horses, so it's always surprised me how charmed I am by Eocene horses. & it's not their size in that era, bc I love me some Giant Sloth family too.
These cats were so cool and the fact that they were so adaptable makes their extinction hit harder.
Somewhere beyond the arctic circle their terror still reigns over shaggy beasts underneath a dim sun and storm battered skies. I want to believe.
@@Klikoderat same, brother. Same.
It's just a stupid animal.
The heterotherium lived on... but for some strange reason, the homotherium went extinct.
@@Mr.Ekshin 🤣🤣🤣
Basically it was a combination between a cat, a hyena and a bear.
So... an overgrown capybera then?
@@davidanderson_surrey_bc More like an anti-capybara.
Knowing their similarities in ecology with wolves, and that they had a similar expansion to humans, I wonder if humans would have domesticated them if they had survived extinction.
We have never dominated cats.
They tolerate us at best 😁
We domesticated our chief rival, maybe we could have done it with the other.
Just imagine hunting with cats instead of hounds.
@@josephvisnovsky1462cat domestication has been a struggle due to their individualism. That said, if there were a feline exhibiting wolf-like social traits, it's both logical and entertaining to consider a mutualistic relationship w them and what that would've looked like.
Sabre tooth house cats 🤔??
Homotherium has been my favorite extinct animal for a long time! The very idea of a cat being a social pursuit predator that specialized in hunting is just so, so fascinating! This was a great video about a truly amazing animal!
Somehow, the heterotherium managed to prosper, while homotherium quickly went extinct.
This was a fascinating look at a critter I have never heard of before
Great stuff! I'd like t point out that Homotherium is a genus comprised of 4 recognized species, I would argue that the genus Panthera historically achieved a similar distribution. It's absolutely fascinating to think that any extinct genus could be as diverse as the pantherine cats and we will likely never be sure about it.
RIGHT! Not to mention how many civilizations or land masses that have been submerged into the ocean over the centuries. Truly makes you wonder how much rich history of the world is just lost to time
True, but the genus Panthera is morphologically more diverse than Homotherium was. No "type" of Panthera, so to speak, ever achieved Homotherium's distribution. Lions were pretty close though.
@@gutemorcheln6134 If P. spelea and P. atrox are still considered lions I'd say they pretty much got there.
@@pumaconcolor2855 I'd count them as lions. They are now recognised mostly as distinct species, but still the spelaea-lions were the sister group to modern lions, meaning the lion is more closely related to them than to any other cat. Panthera spelaea and P. atrox also seem to have been broadly similar ecologically, although there is evidence to suggest that P. atrox at least was solitary, and P. spelaea also seems to have been less social than P. leo is.
As for the distribution, whether P. atrox entered South America is debated but perhaps likely (Panthera atrox/onca mesembrina), but as far as we know, no lion ever reached the Sunda islands, which Homotherium, however, did. I guess we might call it a draw here.
Easily the single most under-appreciated prehistoric animal
How the hell do you even 'rank' that?! Useless tripe.
Homotherium: the cat that wanted to be a dog. There's a movie to be made, there. Maybe our sad misfit protagonist teams up with a fox: the dog that wanted to be a cat. And just for fun, we throw in a Megatherium: the sloth that wanted to be the Hulk.
Another great video. You do an amazing job of demonstrating just how different Homotherium and Smilodon were which really helps one appreciate the diversity of the ecosystems at that time. I'll never look at these two cats the same again.
The statment about us not being the main cause of these animals extinction is straight up facts.
We could have been a contributor but generally even in modern cases we only cause extinctions when the species is already vulnerable and/or through targeted extermination campaigns. The truth is we definitely didn't cause the decline, but we may have been the ones who killed the last remaining individuals without realizing they were the last ones. Imagine growing up seeing such animals, but one day you see the last one without realizing that none of your decedents would ever see another. Its probably happened many times, the animals that are in strongest conflict with us are those that are desperate and living in degraded habitats which would have certainly been the case for the last few of these ice age animals so the last thousand or so that were brought into conflict due to the desperate circumstances they find themselves were sometimes taken out by us but that is not the fault of those people.
If a struggling population of smilodon was desperate enough to have to hunt small prey we would be a prime target, for our size we are somewhat slow but in the end those last surviving saber tooth cats were already on their way out if they had to go for prey they aren't adapted for. It is like how the Tasmanian tiger was already restricted to only a small part of its once massive native range, had it still ranged throughout Australia it would most likely still be around today.
@Exquailibur We're pretty terrible as a food source. It is much more likely that the last individuals moved closer to humans in order to access our refuse and domesticated animals. By the end of the last Ice Age, most healthy adult humans would have been nearly impossible to kill due to our weapons and social organization.
@@Exquailibur very true.
It can take many different factors to push a organism ro its demise.
@@Exquailibur Or through indirect mechanisms most often transporting other species into the region like rats and cats.
Depends on how you view it. If we take climatic changes and associated faunal population drops, and subsequent retreats into refugia during the Pleistocene as the constant. And humans the additional variable which then pushed many species into extinction with additional pressures from our not so insignificant influences. Any reasonable scientist would say that additional variable was a causative factor.
6:32 I thought Homotherium was digitigrade. Would make since if it was a pursuit predator built like a spotted hyena.
There’s also an article by Mauricio Anton published in 2021 on ResearchGate with a figure discussing whether Homotherium was digitigrade or plantigrade. It states that based on foot morphology it was most likely digitigrade. But I may have just missed a more recent study that says otherwise 🤷🏾♂️.
Either way, it’s just nice to see more in-depth Homotherium content 🙌🏾. A very under appreciated animal indeed, many thanks good sir!
But he also says saber cats teeth were exposed which too me seems highly unlikely due to the world they lived in (ice age) & the fact they are super dependent on their teeth. (At least last time I heard him speak on them). Both bears & humans are endurance/pursuit predators that are plantigrade. However I see your point, so maybe they had the ability to do both. Scimitar cats having a bear-like pelvis makes me believe they would have been able to stand on their hind feet for sometime, which is beneficial when scanning for prey during the day, similar to how cheetahs use termite mounds & fallen trees as look out points.
Paleo Analysis when do you think that the next instalment of The Complete History of the Earth will come out?
It's gonna be the early Triassic, so there's a lot to cover.
I would absolutely LOVE to see a video on Panthera Onca Augusta, the jaguar is one of the most unique big cats and I feel like it's also a very under-appreciated animal.
Panthera onca augusta
You're doing nothing short of a service by highlighting these lessor known, yet still amazingly fascinating creatures lost to extinction. I live in hope we will see a documentary on the Great American Interchange one day.
YES!!! 🌚🏜️🐈⬛
I have heard of this animal, but I never knew how unique it was. Thank you sir!
Thank you for this. It would have been terrifying to be actually chased by a saber-tooth cat, not that being pounced on by Smilodon would have been great, but running from something that was going to catch you no matter what would been pretty demoralizing. In any case, as a dedicated cat lover, I really appreciate the lesson on a cat that deserves much more recognition that it gets.
If you do collabs, you should do one with Lindsay Nikole, shes a TH-camr that also does videos on prehistoric animals and modern animals
I like her, but I can't handle her long. Too aggressive
@@christianhunt7382 her voice and cadence needs work
I'm not good at leaving comments, but thank you. Your videos are a great bridge between "Hey, I have some interest" and "Let's wade into Paleonlotogy wholesale!" Thanks.
I am always looking to learn new things. Today I really learned. I had never heard of Homotherium before. Now I have to learn more about this feline.
Thanks for this deep look at the success of the homotherium.
Somehow, I'd never heard of homothereum before. I am very glad to have now learned of them thanks to you.
This is the most underrated beast that we ever encountered or even dreamed of, thank you for this great docu. It is indeed difficult to imagine they were solitary predators, as I used to believe (rationale below) if they hunted elephants and mammoths. An unanswered question that seems then important is: were they decent climbers? Because I used to think they were, as most felines are, but with the kind of hunting strategy and gait that you describe, they were probably even more ground-bound than cheetas.
This brings me to the rationale I mentioned before: I observe a strong association between hominin evolution and felines in Africa: in the days of Homotherium, our ancient kin of bipedal but still somewhat arboreal and small-brained precursors (Australopithecus, Paranthropus and precursors like fascinating Sahelanthropus) managed to survive and even thrive pretty well but went all extinct approx. when lions (Panthera leo) arrived to Africa. This to me needs to be acknowledged as almost certainly the reason for the "punctual evolution" to Homo genus (larger brains, more strict bipedalism and crucially the first technology that we can truly call that way such as control of fire or stone tools) and needs analysis. I used to think that the reason Australopithecines and such survived was that Homotherium was solitary and thus less of a threat to our social kin (the other great predator in Africa were hyenas but not climbers, so trees provided safety in the night) but now I realize that that this is almost certainly not true but my misconception, the reason our kin was relatively safe was that Homotherium, like hyenas, was surely not a great climber... and anyhow it had other culinary interests of greater size than our pre-human ancestors.
When lions arrived (varies somewhat on author but at least 2Ma BP, when fossils already exist in East Africa), then we (hominids) had to face a new threat: social climber predators against which tree nesting provided no safety whatsoever anymore (more so as they hunt at night most of the time and were surely accompanied by their leopard relatives). This was necessarily a new and major game changer in Africa, very especially for our slow-moving kin, whose defenses were sociality and retained tree-climbing abilities only. The resulting mega-culling produced us (Homo sp.) as only survivors, who won the evolutionary race, not by being better at exploiting this or that resource... but better at defending from lions, especially at night, when controlled fire would have been a doubly useful weapon. Evolution typically works by pressure, negative selection of the less fit... after a new challenge appears, and our evolution was not different.
It's weird that nobody seems to be asking the question of what caused the positive selection of us among the once thriving bipedal hominids who clearly had a good life in the African savanna in spite of Homotherium and hyenas. It's a question that must be asked and one that IMO seems to have only one answer: social climber big cat invasion, namely lions.
Interesting.
Not that I have much to add. But I watch a lot of stuff.
I remember hearing our brains were able to develop greater and larger because we started to cook our food.
We spent much less energy chewing and digesting. We got more calories from the cooked food.
Basically, cooking our food gave us bigger brains and sped evolution.
Something to think about and maybe investigate for yourself. But another point for Fire somehow still not getting the credit it deserves! 🔥
@@apexnext - I'm not so sure about the cooking hypothesis: it may have helped (is a pre-digestion) but I don't think it's the main cause. However eating much more meat/fish than our ape cousins is probably helped a lot. In this sense cooking may have helped because we don't have the mouths of a carnivore but we do have relatively small guts almost like carnivores, as if a meat-based diet was part of us since the beginning (sorry, vegans, you got it all wrong).
In this sense it's probably not meat strictly (protein) as it is fat (energy) and that links with the theories that make sometimes our Australopithecines ancestors and even early Homo sp. as supposed consumers of fat-rich marrow (however this would have us competing with hyenas, who also exploit the bones). An old theory in this regard suggests that our sweaty, hairless bodies (plus the protective "hat" of thinly curled hair) would have allowed our ancestors to venture in search of carcasses (incl. their marrow-rich bones) at noon, when predators, less well prepared for the midday heat in the savanna, are dozing under the shadow of the acacias.
Wow this is really fascinating.
You have thought about this a lot havent you!?
@@apexnext - I did anthropo-paleo-blogging for a decade or so and obviously learning before that. So it's stuff that I have thought about or read about now and then... but not that much anyhow.
I recall that I got to the lions's hypothesis when I was sharing apartmente with another anthropo-paleo blogger many years ago and he was like "nah, I don't see it". But I do see it: there must be a reason all other clades in the Australopithecine branch went extinct almost at the same time... but not those who developed the basics of technology, notably fire.
To me its lions but of course it could be something else like "we ate all the australopithecines" or, simpler: "we displaced them". However many paranthropus were basically gorilla style grass-eaters, we don't compete with that niche. But lions would have eaten them in ways that hyenas could not.
The big issue was Homotherium, how was it different from lions. I thought it was because they were not social but apparently the reason was that they were not climbers instead.
In any case it's not only about thinking "a lot" but about "thinking outside the box" primarily.
@LuisAldamiz were we really just food for so many cats?
I knew they were a problem. Our instincts are still so engrained and heightened for a phantom in the dark lurking and stalking us, even in our modern times we can't turn it off.
Another triumph of clear education. Thanks!
Thanks for covering Homotherium, its my favourite prehistoric animal for pretty much all the reasons you mentioned! 😁
Its a historical mystery too: first named by palentologist Emilio Fabrini in 1890, he gave no explanation behind its name and died before anyone could ask him. So we have no real idea why it was dubbed 'same beast' of all things. Its weird, non-descriptive name is probably one of the reasons its not more popular in media, honestly. 🤷♂️
Been looking forward to this one for a long time! Thanks for doing this one!😊
Interesting video man and goodluck with your dig!!
Great video once again! Look forward for the future of this channel.
Excellent video. I really appreciate the deep dives and longer format content!
Another super cool video! Good luck on the fossil dig!!
Finally able to watch the video! Thanks again for the awesome videos and amazing content!!
Thanks for the awesome content and great videos!!
Always a pleasure to view these vids, enjoy the dig the coming time!
Thank You for continuing to produce such high quality content.
Another quality and well researched video. Thanks for compiling!
Another fantastic video! Thanks for the information, you did a wonderful job as always. I would love to hear more about ancient cats from you. And scorpions, too.
super. always love your work... shows how much we have learnt or changed our view on things in the past 30 years or so that i learnt. wonderful....
Appreciate your research and well put together documentary!
Fantastic video! Really enjoyed it and learned.
Hi, Mr PA,
You mentioned, [12:45], that prey isolation by the family leads to the final severing the major arteries in the neck.
However, with track and kill hunters, whether quad- or bi-pedal, very often the method of bringing down prey is to inflict various [smaller or larger, many or few] lacerations so that the animal is bleeding consistently, whilst the hunters track the wounded beast, almost casually, until the prey is tiring, and slowing, and weakening, due to blood-loss and thirst.
It may be some days till the animal is caught-up, but due to weakness the final kill is much more subdued and less violent ie. less dramatic. This also pairs well with evidence of less broken teeth and injuries sustained by our [scimetar formed and serrated edged] toothy hunter.
Love the vid. I really enjoy these more in-depth videos.
thank you for continuing to put out some of the best and most accesible paleo content on youtube. Your channel is a treasure.
Thanks for posting this! I learned a lot!
Always enjoy your videos. Well done.
I very much enjoy all your content. I love the deep dive videos and the history of the earth series. Cenozoic animals are some of my favorites and they are highly under-represented in Paleo media so I really enjoyed this one. Thanks for the work you put into making these ❤
Gotta love such a well done presentation!
Heck yeah man! Another awesome episode. Have a blast in the badlands!
An absolutely fantastic video on an incredible and far too unknown creature! Easily and by far the best video on Homotherium that I have found on TH-cam! Please keep producing such awesome contacts!
Great video as always :) i literally knew nothing about homotherium before!
I appreciate you covering the species! I’ve never heard of them before. :)
Great video on a truly fascinating predator! It is astounding that they are not more widely acknowledged, considering their long, successful run over such a huge range! Thank you for all the hard work creating your interesting, informative and entertaining videos. Have fun on your fossil hunt. All work and no play....
Great vid as always
Keep doing what you do, always a treat.
letsgo finnally new video,have been waiting for this
Love the enthusiasm and information
I liked the video, good explained and nice pictures.
Love this. It's always interesting to learn about ancient species! Thank you ❤
Great breakdown as always!
8:30 Eurasian/North American cold Sarengedi 11:45 Homatherium may have been a group hunter. 16:40 FOURHUNDRED baby mammoth individuals in a Homatherium cave 18:20 Insane Ice Age South American Mammalian carnivore compition.
This channel is a godsend. Loving the content.
Hell yeah man I been waiting for yah my boi ❤
You have a true gift. Thank you for sharing it.
Great video as always
👍I much enjoy your work. Interesting educational and often thoughtful. Keep up the good work. I even enjoy that little beast that you have evolving sometimes.
This is great today is my birthday thank you for uploading this video on my birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday 🎉🌚🏜️🐈⬛☑️
That was awesome and beautyfull!!! Thank you really!!!! Good luck in your fossil hunt!! 😊
Besides dinosaurs, prehistoric mammals are the second thing I like.
Mainly because I work in a place here in Hungary that is rich in fossils from the miocene epoch/ period.
Top notch content! I never even heard of this species of cats.
Thank you for the video. Always a pleasure. ^^
This was a great video, Homotherium is one of my favorite Ice Age Prehistoric Animals!!
Wasn’t there a supercut of the Paleozoic era that was supposed to premiere too or is that being postponed? I feel like I’m seeing things.
That's coming up at the end of the month.
@@PaleoAnalysis ok. Thank you. Me and Spiny can’t wait.
Thank you for the video!
Interesting video, looking forward to more.
Thank you for this great content! Of course I clicked on the like button too.
Love the bear foot lion,I'm blown away with so much new information and context,thanks
Great video, I learned a lot
Another great video!
Excellent, as always.
Great job.I could watch. this again and learn more and somehow it is fun
Honestly I just watched this video and dam it was not only knowledgeable but it was banger from the edits to the breakdown just got yourself a subscription 😂
I just found you through Animalogic and I love your channel, grateful for discovering you! Very interesting content
So you're into dawg fighting then? Real nice dude.
Very interesting and well made video!
Exceptional video and narration. 👋👋👋🙏
Always look forward to episodes from this channel. Always informative and always entertaining. B]
Fantastic video once again.
Thank you! I love your channel.
Very informative video, thank you
Another fantastic video.
Fascinating. I've wondered about these creatures.
I had not known about this creature before! This is so cool!
my husband and i had never heard of them! they sound very interesting- thank you for the deep dive
This is the first video of yours I've seen, and I love it! Homotherium is my favorite feline of all time
Just out of curiosity I came to check on your channel for any missed content and BAM this was just posted an hour ago. It was the universe calling me lol
Awesome you get out into the field ❤
I love your videos! I wonder, could you do one about the Hadean Eon? There *may* have been the beginnings of life there.
Big fan of your takes on pleistocene megafauna extinction!!
After so many years of consuming paleo content, it’s not often that I learn so much new stuff in a single youtube video!
Great video!