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Through qualitative anatomical description, regional brain volume estimation, and 3D geometric morphometrics, we assess the neuroanatomy of this extinct felid in comparison with extant pantherine and feline species. In comparison to modern felids, the endocranial morphology of\n                    <jats:italic>M. cultridens<\/jats:italic>\n                    reveals a rostrocaudally compressed cerebrum, a relatively enlarged frontal lobe, short olfactory tracts, and a diverging sulcal pattern, particularly in the configuration of the\n                    <jats:italic>sulcus ectosylvius<\/jats:italic>\n                    . While the absence of a distinct\n                    <jats:italic>gyrus intersylvius<\/jats:italic>\n                    suggests a reduced auditory cortex, the expanded occipital cortex may indicate enhanced visual processing. The expanded cerebellum indicates a preference for closed environments and scansorial abilities for this genus. Finally, all performed analyses place\n                    <jats:italic>M. cultridens<\/jats:italic>\n                    in an intermediate position between Felinae and Pantherinae in brain shape morphospace, with closest affinities to ecologically flexible extant species such as\n                    <jats:italic>Puma concolor<\/jats:italic>\n                    and\n                    <jats:italic>Panthera onca<\/jats:italic>\n                    . Our findings support the hypothesis that\n                    <jats:italic>M. cultridens<\/jats:italic>\n                    possessed a generalized neuroanatomical profile, likely associated with behavioral plasticity and ecological versatility in the Early Pleistocene European ecosystems characterized by a high degree of intraguild competition and an especially high diversity of medium to large felids.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1002\/ar.70213","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T06:00:49Z","timestamp":1777528849000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["In the brain of a sabertooth: First neuroanatomical description and ethological insights on\n                    <i>Megantereon cultridens<\/i>\n                    (Felidae, Machairodontinae)"],"prefix":"10.1002","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-1326-8635","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ilaria","family":"Meli","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Paleo[Fab]Lab Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Firenze  Firenze Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4639-9451","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joan","family":"Madurell\u2010Malapeira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Paleo[Fab]Lab Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Firenze  Firenze Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8923-5428","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lorenzo","family":"Rook","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Paleo[Fab]Lab Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Firenze  Firenze Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7075-9862","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Margot","family":"Michaud","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut Polytechnique UniLaSalle, Universit\u00e9 d'Artois, IDEALISS, URL 7519  Mont\u2010Saint\u2010Aignan France"},{"name":"Evolution and Diversity Dynamics Lab Universit\u00e9 de Li\u00e8ge  Li\u00e8ge Belgium"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-0205-2655","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Simone","family":"Zoccante","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Via Palmanova 89, 20132  Milan Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1280-5378","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Saverio","family":"Bartolini\u2010Lucenti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Paleo[Fab]Lab Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Firenze  Firenze Italy"},{"name":"Institut Catal\u00e0 de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP\u2010CERCA), Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA\u2010ICP, c\/Columnes s\/n, Campus de la UAB  Barcelona Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_9_2_1","unstructured":"Adams D. 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