Simbakubwa: what killed the African mega-predator, three times larger than a lion? (11 photos)

It just so happens that distant Africa, one of the hottest places on the planet, has more than once given birth to animals that are extremely successful in evolutionary terms. And you and I, dear people, are definitely no exception here.





For example, if we go to Africa about 20 million years ago, we will see not only the sun, palm trees, etc. Limpopo and hippopo. But also huge beasts of prey, capable of playfully even for a modern lion to pounce on the nearest baobab tree.



Fragments of the bones of one such giant were discovered back in 1980. And they christened it Simbakubwa kutokaafrika. Translated from Swahili - a huge lion from Africa.

However, in fact, this animal had nothing to do with lions or any cats at all. For she belonged to the hyaenodonts - a family of mammals famous for their huge jaws.





A fragment of a Simbakubwa's jaw compared to a lion's skull (top)

Hyenodonts began to appear immediately after the extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago - after the food poverty of the “bad boys” was freed on Earth. They quickly got to the top and grew in size. For example, here is such a guy - megistotherium, who, standing on four legs, could easily look you in the eye, dear reader.



Simbakubwa lived approximately on the territory of modern Kenya. And as paleontologists found out, it was a huge monster, larger than even a modern polar bear. And it looked like this:



- I’ll sing right now!

This prequel of the Lion King weighed about one and a half tons, reached one and a half meters in height, and about 3.5 meters in length. An adult, standing on 4 legs, could reach the shoulder.



- Kitty, kitty, don’t meow so pitifully - I’ll give you whiskey!

The Simbakubva's mouth had an impressive arsenal - three rows of razor-sharp teeth with self-sharpening edges! Each tooth is the size of a good banana.

The structure of the teeth clearly shows that our mega-predator needed three things in life: meat, meat and more meat! And Simba ate his largest neighbors - rhinoceroses, elephants...



- I'm going to look!

Another feature of Simbakubva as a predator. He was semidigital. That is, he did not walk on tiptoes and without leaning on his entire paw, like many modern animals. And he combined these two features. That is, he moved incredibly quickly and quickly. Yes, kids, don’t go for a walk in Africa. Especially prehistoric...



Jaws of Simba and modern lion. A little scary, right?

In short, if such a sadyuga as Simbakubwa lived in the current world, then elephants and hippos would clearly not feel safe. And they would prefer to run far, far away, sit quietly and quietly. Aka from the spring draft, in short.



- Where are you, elephant, let's play!

But Simbakubwa, like other hyaenodonts, became extinct about 10 million years ago. As soon as in Africa, under the influence of climate change, the number of elephants and other megafauna has sharply decreased.

Because the big-bellied Simba was not at all adapted to hunting for any little thing... And try feeding one and a half tons of live weight on some mice! There was no one for our boy to eat.



- Kolyan, we have a famine, and you, they say, were sharpening chips at night. We must share!

Our hero was also let down by the structure of the teeth-scissors - Simbakubwa could perfectly cut the fillet from the poor victim. But he couldn’t crush her bones at all. That is, he didn’t eat a lot of things he needed, wastefully left behind delicious bone marrow, and so on.

But elephants and hippos can now breathe freely...