Thylacosmilus had Weird Eyes, Too

Thylacosmilus atrox sounds like a cross between a smilodon and a thylacine. Those two are not at all related, but Thylacosmilus was a South American marsupial with saber teeth. It also had an extreme L-shaped lower jaw. But this weird carnivorous animal's eyes are very strange as well.

Most predators have eyes that face the front of the head, for enhanced depth perception, while prey animals have eyes to the side of the skull for defensive panoramic vision. Thylacosmilus atrox had eyes on the sides of its skull like a cow, despite being a predator. A new study explains that the reason for this is those huge teeth. Thylacosmilus' teeth grew over the front of the skull for strength, which pushed the eyes to the side. However, Thylacosmilus made up for this by getting those orbital bones to protrude from the skull, giving it at least a bit of depth perception for hunting. Thylacosmilus died out about three million years ago.

(Image credit: © Jorge Blanco)