MILIA (GREVENA, MACEDONIA, GREECE):

A DANGEROUS AREA FOR MAMMUT BORSONI?

Wilrie van Logchem , Evangelia Tsoukala and Dick Mol

1 2 3

Milia, Macedonia, Greece –

From 3 million years ago onward this was a very dangerous area for
herbivores like gazelle, hipparions, rhino and mastodon species
such as juvenile Mammut borsoni. Carnivores roamed the area in
search of a good meal of flesh. However, one of the most ferocious
animals of that time, a hyper-carnivorous predator, was the
scimitar-toothed cat Homotherium with his long razor-sharp upper

154 mm
canines, extremely powerful forelimbs and strongly built body.

The only defences against his deadly weapons and skills were to be
huge like the mastodon and rhinos or to be able to run at very high
speeds like the gazelles and hipparions. The world records for the lon-
gest tusks are for Mammut borsoni, which were excavated in Milia.
These awesome tusks must have been efficient defence weapons
against top predators like Homotherium and all other large carnivores.
They would not have stood much of a chance against an adult mast-
odon, but they may have preyed upon very juvenile or inexperienced
young specimens if they could isolate one from the herd. Figure 1. Right upper canine of Milia Homotherium sp.

At the site Milia 1 a well-preserved, almost 16 centimeter-long upper
canine of the scimitar-toothed cat Homotherium sp. was found, exhib-
iting the typical coarsely crenulated edges. These “dagger-like” ca-
nines were used for killing their prey by slicing open the throat, cut-
ting the carotid arteries and trachlea, of the prey animal with a canine
shear-bite. They were not used in a stabbing way - such deployment
would have increased the risk of breakage.
Other specimens of Homotherium unearthed from the Milia area in-
clude a distal part of the humerus and a complete tibia. To immobilize
its prey the forelimbs in all machairodonts are more massive and
muscled as in modern cats. The stocky hind limbs were important for
subduing a struggling prey and restoring balance. The paleo-environ-
ment of Homotherium was a mosaic of different landscapes, from
open forests to savannah type with a mix of trees, shrubs and herbs,
and open steppes dominated by grasses.
The general opinion of Homotherium is that it would have been a soli-
tary predator based on comparisons to the solitary lifestyle of modern
big cats, with the exception of the African lion (Panthera leo). We sup-
port the hypothesis suggesting social groupings in Homotherium. Be-
sides hunting in small packs also occasionally been a scavenger (Mol
& van Logchem 2009). Homotherium would have had an average
weight of about 250 kg, and packs of them must have been capable of
overwhelming a fleeing juvenile of Mammut borsoni or other
medium-sized pachyderms or the biggest hoofed animals. The logic
for this social hunting strategy is based on the morphological adapta-
tions for sustaining higher speeds, seen especially in the Late Pleisto-
cene species of Homotherium. Another reason to support this view
may have been the loss of vegetative cover brought about by climate
change during the transition of the Pliocene to the Pleistocene, when
the densely-forested landscapes gave way to a more open vegetation
and increasing competitive pressure amongst the predators.

| Copyright: Remie Bakker, Manimal Works, Rotterdam |

| Picture credits: Wilrie van Logchem |
| Design: Evangelos Vlachos |

Figure 2. A small pack of Homotherium chasing a fleeing juvenile of Mammut borsoni isolated from the herd
References
Mol, D. & Logchem, W.M.S. van 2009 - The mastodon of Milia: the longest tusks in the world. Deposits magazine, 26-32.
Mol, D., Logchem, W.M.S. van, Hooijdonk, K. van & Bakker, R. 2008 - The saber-toothed cat of the North Sea. Druk-
Ware, Norg: 1-160
Tsoukala E. 2000 - Remains of a Pliocene Mammut borsoni (HAYS 1834), from Milia (Grevena, W. Macedonia, Greece).
Annales de Paléontologie, 86(3): 165-191
1
Bosuilstraat 12, Culemborg, the Netherlands, E-mail: w.m.s.van.logchem@ziggo.nl
2
Aristotle University, School of Geology, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece. E-mail: lilits@geo.auth.gr
3
Natural History Museum, Rotterdam and Musée Crozatier, Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire, France, c/o Gudum-
holm 41, NL-2133 HG Hoofddorp, the Netherlands. E-mail: dickmol@telfort.nl