Friday, March 25, 2011

Archaeology Update

The Associated Press: Archaeologists discover saber-toothed vegetarian: "Surprised scientists have discovered the remains of a saber-toothed vegetarian. The leaf-crunching animal — about the size of a large dog — lived 260 million years ago in what is now Brazil, researchers report in Friday's edition of the journal Science. Its upper canine teeth were nearly 5 inches long.

Such large teeth are more often the mark of a meat-eating animal, used to capture and kill prey.

The enormous canines were likely used by the plant-eating animals to fight each other or protect against predators, said research leader Juan Carlos Cisneros of the University of Piaui in northeastern Brazil."

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