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Evolution of the cat

Skulls shed new light

 Started by Waspie_Dwarf , Jul 10 2012 10:59 AM
evolution cats fossils skulls palaeontology

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#1    Waspie_Dwarf

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Posted 10 July 2012 - 10:59 AM

Skulls shed new light on the evolution of the cat


phys.org said:

Modern cats diverged in skull shape from their sabre-toothed ancestors early in their evolutionary history and then followed separate evolutionary trajectories, according to new research from the University of Bristol published today in PLoS ONE.

The study also found that the separation between modern domestic cats and big cats such as lions and tigers is also deeply rooted.

Dr Manabu Sakamoto and Dr Marcello Ruta in the School of Earth Sciences studied the skull shape of extinct sabre-toothed cats, modern (conical-toothed) cats and prehistoric ‘basal’ cats (ancestors of modern cats). This is the first time these three different types of cats have been analysed together in a single dataset.

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#2    ealdwita

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Posted 10 July 2012 - 04:08 PM

Well, I can't speak for anyone else's moggies, but mine seem to have evolved (not very far) from something fat, lazy, greedy and pretty damn stupid! (Think John Prescott in a fur coat!)
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#3    gnostic-deity

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Posted 10 July 2012 - 08:25 PM

my 2 are decidedly quite intelligent. I have been trained properly :D
oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive

#4    Imaginarynumber1

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Posted 10 July 2012 - 08:37 PM

How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you.



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From www.theoatmeal.com

Edited by Imaginarynumber1, 10 July 2012 - 08:39 PM.

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#5    Junior Chubb

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Posted 11 July 2012 - 12:36 PM

Nice article Waspie, thanks for posting.

I was reading on another thread about feral cats in Australia and how after a few generations they become much larger than their domestic cousins, this ties in nicely.

View Postealdwita, on 10 July 2012 - 04:08 PM, said:

Well, I can't speak for anyone else's moggies, but mine seem to have evolved (not very far) from something fat, lazy, greedy and pretty damn stupid! (Think John Prescott in a fur coat!)

Is your cat called Garfield?

Funny also that you  mention 'Two Jags (two cats) Prescott'.

Edited by Junior Chubb, 11 July 2012 - 12:41 PM.

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#6    DKO

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Posted 11 July 2012 - 12:50 PM

View PostImaginarynumber1, on 10 July 2012 - 08:37 PM, said:

How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you.



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From www.theoatmeal.com

Haha that's classic. These two were my favourites:

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#7    slowfade

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Posted 12 July 2012 - 06:37 PM

View Postgnostic-deity, on 10 July 2012 - 08:25 PM, said:

my 2 are decidedly quite intelligent. I have been trained properly :D

Yes, I was trained properly by my two. You never own a cat - they own you. Or, as a friend of mine says: dogs have owners, but cats have staff.... :yes:
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The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference
And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference"
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