Research overview: function of the mandibular flange in sabertooth carnivores

This overview surveys the bony chin flanges, or mandibular flanges, found in many sabertooth carnivores, including barbourofelids and the marsupial-relative Thylacosmilus, and in reduced form in some true sabercats. These downward projections of the lower jaw are thought to protect, guide, or buttress the elongated upper canines, perhaps sheathing them at rest or helping position them during the bite. The survey reviews the range of flange development across sabertooth lineages, competing functional interpretations, and what the recurrence of flanges in unrelated groups reveals about the shared mechanical demands of wielding long canines. It discusses how flange anatomy informs reconstructions of killing behaviour and convergence, and why the structure represents one of the more enigmatic features repeatedly associated with the sabertooth ecomorph.