Marsupial Lion Tops African Lion in Fight to the Death袋狮若存世 完胜非洲狮

Pound for pound， Australia’s extinct marsupial lion （Thylacoleo carnifex） would have made mincemeat of1 today’s African lion （Panthera leo） had the two big hyper-carnivores2 ever squared off3 in a fight to the death， according to an Australian scientist.

袋狮曾是澳大利亚的一个物种，现已灭绝。一位澳大利亚科学家称，假如袋狮与现在的非洲狮这两种大型超级食肉动物来场殊死搏斗，那袋狮定能完胜与之体重相当的对手。

A research published in the Journal of Zoology suggests that Thylacoleo killed prey rapidly， using its “bolt-cutter” type teeth to scissor through hide and flesh to produce major trauma and blood loss.

《动物学期刊》上的一篇研究报告表明，袋狮杀死猎物的速度很快，它那断线钳似的牙齿能“剪”开猎物的皮肉，令猎物身受重伤，血流如注。

By contrast， African lions and similar big cats of today use their bite force to suffocate prey， using a “clamp and hold” technique that can take up to 15 minutes with large prey such as Cape buffalo.

相比之下，现在的非洲狮以及与之类似的大型猫科动物则会利用自身咬合力令猎物窒息。它们的办法就是紧咬猎物不松口。对付诸如非洲水牛这样的大型猎物，它们能耗上15分钟。

“My results suggest that the marsupial lion employed a unique killing technique，” says research authoruUVeFpBJr4V83ywz+9vzYA== Stephen Wroe. “It used its massive carnassial cheek teeth to effect major trauma and a rapid kill. Unlike any living mammalian carnivores， the marsupial’s carnassials were not only butchery tools but also active components in the killing process.”

“我的研究结果表明，袋狮会以特有的方式杀死猎物。”研究报告的作者斯蒂芬·罗说，“它用硕大的裂齿咬伤猎物，后者很快就会因伤重而死。袋狮的裂齿不仅用于切割猎物，还能在猎杀过程中起到积极作用，这不同于现在任何一种食肉哺乳动物。”

Using a sophisticated computer modelling method [finite element （FE） analysis4] that renders dynamic 3D models based on CT scans of the marsupial’s cranial mechanics and musculoskeletal architecture， Wroe has revealed that the creature’s skull， jaw， and head and neck muscles were well adapted to using the unique technique for killing large prey， but not for delivering the prolonged suffocating bite of living big cats.

根据有关袋狮颅骨结构及肌肉骨骼构造的CT扫描结果，罗用复杂的电脑建模方法（有限元分析法），绘制出了袋狮头部的动态三维模型。从这个模型上可以看出，袋狮的颅骨、颌骨，以及头颈部肌肉与它杀死大型猎物的独特方式非常匹配，但并不适合像现在的大型猫科动物那样，为了让猎物窒息而采用长时间紧咬不放的猎捕方式。

“The marsupial lion also had an extremely efficient bite，” Wroe says. “In addition to very powerful jaw muscles for its size， its muscle and skull architecture were arranged in such a way as to take greater advantage of leverage than in living cats.”

“袋狮的咬合也极为高效。”罗说，“以袋狮的体型而论，它的颌部肌肉很有力。除此之外，它的肌肉与颅骨结构配合得当，更便于借助杠杆作用，现在的猫科动物在这方面就稍逊一筹。”

Wroe， who has published findings about bite force in other hyper-carnivores， such as great white sharks and sabre-toothed tigers， believes there is no doubt that Australia’s marsupial lion was a fearsome predator that punched well above its weight5.

罗还研究过大白鲨、剑齿虎等其他超级食肉动物的咬合力，研究结果也已发表。罗认为，澳大利亚袋狮无疑是可怕的猎食者，它能游刃有余地干掉比自己大的猎物。

Certainly， Thylacoleo was seriously over-engineered for dispatching small prey. These findings support the conclusion that the creature regularly preyed on relatively large species and was able to effect quick kills and withstand large forces generated by large struggling prey.

如果袋狮只抓小型猎物，那它定不会进化到那种程度。研究结果证实了下述结论：袋狮通常捕食较为庞大的猎物，不但能迅速杀死猎物，还能抵挡住大型猎物在挣扎时爆发出的巨大力量。

“Hypothetically， had a large marsupial lion ever come face to face with an African lion of similar size， it could have use its deadly cheek teeth and incredibly powerful arms to inflict mortal wounds on the mammal，” Wroe says. “Had it not become extinct， it might now hold top spot over toady’s ‘king of the jungle.’”

“袋狮的裂齿能致对手死亡，前肢也极其有力。假设一只大型袋狮迎面碰上一只跟它差不多大的非洲狮，袋狮会利用自己的裂齿与前肢给后者造成致命伤。”罗说，“若袋狮没有灭绝，它兴许能力压现在的‘丛林之王’。”

1 make mincemeat of sb 彻底击败。 2超级食肉动物指进食食物中超过70%为肉类的动物。 3 square off （和某人）打斗；摆好战斗姿势。

4有限元分析指将连续体离散化为若干有限大小的单元体，对实际物理问题进行模拟求解的分析方法。

5 punch above one’s weight（拳击运动中）和高于自己重量级别的对手较量。