The Sabre Tooth Cat, Smilidon
Smilidon is an extinct prehistoric mammal that lived between 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago. They lived in North and South America. There were three different types of Smilidon; all three were very similar, they were just different sizes. Smilidons are also known as sabre tooth cats, this is due to their very large and sabre like top canine teeth.
The Smilidon was one of the first prehistoric mammal skeletons to ever be found. Danish naturalist and palaeontologist Dr. Peter Wilhelm Lund found the first Smilidon fossil in 1841. Dr. Lund found the skeleton of Smilidon Populator, which is the youngest of the three Smilidon species. Fossils of the other two Smilidon species, Smilidon Gracilis and Smilidon Fatalis, were not found until many years later. Smilidon is Greek for “Knife Tooth”.
The first Smilidon species to exist was Smilidon Gracilis; the other two Smilidon species came from them. Simildon Gracilis was the smallest of the three species; they were the size of a cougar, weighed 120-220 pounds when full grown and had large canines that were about 4 inches long. Simildon Fatalis was the second Smilidon species to evolve and they were also the middle sized of the three. They were about the size of a Siberian Tiger, weighed 350-620 pounds when full grown and had large canine teeth that measured about 6-8 inches long. The largest of the Smilidons was the Smilidon Populator. They were the last of the Smilidons to exist and were the largest feline to ever walk the planet. They were around 48 inches at their shoulders, weighed 800-1000 ponds and had large canine teeth that were 12 inches long.
Despite the deadly look of the Smilidon’s large canine teeth, they were actually quite weak and would easily break if they hit bone. Fossils show that Smilidons do not use their teeth to attack; they attacked with their strong bodies and claws and then when the prey was beaten would rip out their throats with their long teeth. Their fangs were large enough to easily rip through the neck, and cut open both the windpipe and the major blood vein. Smilidon has had very strong limbs, far stronger than any other felines in the world. This was due to their bodies being more bear shaped than cat.
Smilidons were carnivores. They hunted everything from deer, horses, bison, ground sloths, American camels, young or weak mammoths and mastodons, and prehistoric humans. Smilidons were apex predators and had little to fear from the other animals; their only threats were other Smilidons, enraged mammoths and mastodons protecting their young and prehistoric humans once they started using tools. Scientists believe that the Smilidons went extinct due to the extinction of the primary prey, the mastodon and mammoth, and by over hunting by humans.
Smilidons were amazing animals, and are definitely the most impressive and ferocious feline to ever watch the planet Earth. Sadly, even an animal as formidable as Smilidon could not stop the power of nature and natural selection, and man.
Sources
- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/08/saber-tooth-cats-surprise-fossils-redraw-picture-of-big-cat/
- https://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/smilodon/
- https://igws.indiana.edu/FossilsAndTime/Sabertooth
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