Question

hylacosmilus is a marsupial, and Smilodon is a mammal. Thylacosmilus and Smilodon both have saber teeth, but they do not share an ancestor that had saber teeth. What are saber teeth for these organisms?

Answer 1

analogous structures

Step-by-step explanation:

In biology, homologous structures refer to the structures that arose from a common ancestor, whereas analogous structures refer to the structures similar in function but do not have a common ancestor.

The analogous structure of Thylacosmilus and Smilodon can be explained as:

Thylacosmilus is a marsupial, which has saber teeth. The organism is extinct and the saber-toothed. The tooth of the marsupial was very long and represented as pointy fangs.

Smilodon belonged to the mammal group and is a group of extinct species. These animals also had saber tooth due to adaptations to the environment.

The saber tooth of marsupial and mammals might have the same functions, but they don't share the common ancestors.

Therefore, the correct answer is analogous structures.