科学美国人60秒：你敢挑食？知不知道剑齿虎是怎么灭绝的！

This is Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Sophie Bushwick. Got a minute?

这里是《科学美国人》的60秒科学，我是苏菲·布什维克。准备好了吗?

Starting about 12,000 years ago, many species of North American animals began to die out. The episode is called the late Pleistocene extinction. And it killed off four of the six kinds of American big cats. Only cougars and jaguars survived. Now researchers say the other felines’ diets may have been their doom.

大约从12000年前开始，许多北美动物物种开始灭绝。这一时期被称为晚更新世大灭绝。美国六种大型猫科动物中的四种都灭绝了。只有美洲狮和美洲虎幸存下来。现在，研究人员发现，其他猫科动物的饮食可能预示着它们的厄运。

The clues are found on fossil teeth. Gnawing on brittle bones, for example, leaves different marks than chewing tender meat.

线索是在牙齿化石上发现的。例如，啃碎易碎的骨头会留下不同于咀嚼嫩肉的痕迹。

So researchers compared the teeth of cougars to those of American lions and saber-toothed cats that did not make it. For context, they also analyzed the marks on the teeth of modern carnivores with known diets, including cougars, lions and hyenas. The study is in the journal Biology Letters.

因此，研究人员将美洲狮的牙齿与美洲狮和剑齿虎的牙齿进行了比较。为了了解情况，他们还分析了已知饮食的现代食肉动物，包括美洲狮、狮子和鬣狗牙齿上的痕迹。这项研究发表在《生物学快报》杂志上。

During tough times, both ancient and modern cougars consumed almost all of their prey—including the bones. But the cats that went extinct stayed picky, eschewing rather than chewing some body parts even when food was scarce. So next time you’re faced with finicky eaters, tell them why there are no more saber-toothed cats.

在困难时期，古代和现代的美洲狮几乎都会吃掉它们所有的猎物--包括骨头。但是灭绝的猫科动物即使在食物匮乏的情况下依然挑剔，它们会避开咀嚼猎物身体的某些部位。所以，当你下次面对挑剔的食客时，告诉他们剑齿虎是为什么灭绝的。

Thanks for the minute for Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Sophie Bushwick.

感谢收听《科学美国人》的60秒科学。苏菲·布什维克报道。