Sparassodont facts for kids

Sparassodonts were a group of meat-eating mammals that lived a long, long time ago. They are all extinct now, meaning they no longer live on Earth. These fascinating animals lived only in South America.

Quick facts for kids Sparassodonta Temporal range: Palaeocene–Pleistocene
Thylacosmilus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Infraclass:	Metatheria
Order:	†Sparassodonta Ameghino, 1894

The borhyaenid Lycopsis

For a while, scientists thought Sparassodonts were true marsupials, like kangaroos or opossums. But now, they believe Sparassodonts were very close relatives to marsupials, but a separate group. Many of these ancient predators looked a lot like modern meat-eating mammals, such as lions or wolves. These modern animals developed in other parts of the world, like Europe and Asia. The first Sparassodonts were found by a scientist named Florentino Ameghino. He found their fossils in Patagonia, a region in South America.

Amazing Features of Sparassodonts

Sparassodonts had many features that were similar to today's meat-eating mammals, like cats and dogs. However, they were not closely related to them at all! This is a cool example of something called convergent evolution. It means different animals can develop similar body parts or ways of life when they live in similar environments.

For example, the back teeth of Sparassodonts were great for slicing meat, just like the teeth of modern cats. Their long, pointed front teeth, called canines, were also very long. Some, like the Thylacosmilus, had huge canines that looked like the famous saber-toothed cats such as Smilodon.

Sparassodonts came in many different sizes. Some were as small as 80 centimeters (about 2 feet 8 inches) long. Others were as big as today's large cats, like tigers or jaguars! Another group of large predators were the borhyaenids. These animals looked more like ancient wolves or dogs.

Sparassodont Families

Scientists have grouped Sparassodonts into several families based on their fossils:

• †Hathliacynidae
• †Borhyaenidae
• †Proborhyaenidae
• †Thylacosmilidae

Images for kids

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  Skull of Borhyaena (Borhyaenidae)

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  Thylacosmilus had long sabers

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  Skeletal reconstruction of Thylacosmilus, a large specialised sabre-toothed sparassodont

See also

In Spanish: Esparasodontes para niños