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| Smilodon | |
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| Smilodon californicus fossil at the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC | |
| Conservation status | |
| Template:StatusFossil | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | Machairodontinae |
| Genus: | Smilodon Lund, 1842 |
| Species | |
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Smilodon californicus | |
- For the record label, see Smilodon Records
Smilodon (IPA: /smailəʊdɑn/, a bahuvrihi from Greek: Template:Polytonic "knife" and (Ionic) Template:Polytonic "tooth") is an extinct genus of large machairodontine saber-toothed cats that are understood to have lived between approximately 3 million to 10,000 years ago in North and South America. They are probably the successors to Megantereon. The Smilodon is also colloquially known as Saber-toothed cat or Saber-toothed tiger.
The Smilodon is the prehistoric cat that is best known to researchers. They are very commonly incorrectly called "saber toothed tiger." In truth, all modern day cats, including tigers, came from a completely different line.
Anatomy
A fully-grown Smilodon weighed approximately 200 kilograms (450 pounds) and had a short tail, powerful legs, and a large head. About the size of a lion, Smilodon was extremely powerful. Its jaws could open 120 degrees. Its fangs were about 17 cm (7 inches) long. Although the cat has no close living relatives, paleontologists reconstruct how the saber-toothed cat looked by comparing its bones with those of large cats living today. Very powerful front legs and a short tail indicate that saber-toothed cats used stealth and ambush rather than speed to capture their prey. It's not known if its coat was striped, spotted or tawny.
Lifestyle and Behavior
The social pattern of this cat is unknown. Some fossils show healed injuries or diseases that would have crippled the animal. Some paleontologists see this as evidence that saber-toothed cats were social animals, living and hunting in packs that provided food for old and sick members. Living in groups would also help with having to compete with lions and wolves. Smilodon lived in grasslands, or pine forests with rocky soil. A majority of fossils have been discovered in areas such as these.
The canine teeth and body size of Smilodon were about the same in both male and female cats. This indicates that Smilodon may not have lived in groups (and that the teeth may not have been used for attracting mates as it has been suggested). However, it still could have hunted cooperatively.
Diet and hunting
Smilodon probably preyed on a wide variety of game including; bison, elk, deer, American camels, horses and the young prehistoric elephants (including the mammoth, Jeffersonian mammoth, Columbian mammoth, woolly mammoth, and the mastadon).
Recent investigations suggest that this saber-toothed cat probably used its long canines to slash through the throat, severing the wind pipe and cutting the jugular. Its teeth were surprisingly delicate and could easily snap off if a prey animal struggled. Its mouth could open up to 120 degrees, whereas the modern lion, Panthera leo, can only open its jaws to 65 degrees.
Smilodon was quite robust for a feline. Stress patterns on Smilodon bones indicate that it used its powerfully built forelegs to subdue its prey, making it easier to use its teeth.
Classifiction and species
The genus Smilodon was described by the Danish naturalist and palaeontologist Peter Wilhelm Lund in 1841. He found the fossils of Smilodon populator in caves near the small town of Lagoa Santa, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
As many as six species of Smilodon are known to have existed:
- Smilodon fatalis, 1.6 million-10,000 years ago
- Smilodon gracilis, 2.5 million-500,000 years ago
- Smilodon populator, 1 million-10,000 years ago
- Smilodon neogaeus, 3 million-500,000 years ago
- Smilodon floridus, may be a subspecies of Smilodon fatalis
- Smilodon californicus, may be a subspecies of Smilodon fatalis.
La Brea tar pits
The La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles trapped hundreds of Smilodon in the tar, possibly as they tried to feed on mammoths already trapped. There is a museum there today which has many of their complete skeletons.
In popular culture
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. Please relocate any relevant information into other sections or articles. (August 2007) |
- Smilodon has appeared as one of the main creatures of Impossible Pictures films Walking With Beasts and Prehistoric Park (fourth episode).
- In Jeff Rovin's novel Fatalis, several S. fatalis survive to the present day, preserved by a combination of intense heat followed by intense cold, and re-animated when the cave they were in floods, and menace various Californian communities.
- The Smilodon, or the Saber-Toothed Tiger, is the power source of Boi (a.k.a. TigerRanger) in the Japanese Super Sentai television series Kyouryuu Sentai Zyuranger, as well as that of Trini Kwan and Aisha Campbell the Yellow Rangers in the American show that was based off of Sentai, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
- Although the Zaber Fang from the Zoids franchise is referred to as a "Tiger type", it is actually a Smilodon.
- The Nashville Predators mascot, Gnash, is an anthropomorphized Smilodon.
- The Saber-Toothed Tiger was also the inspiration for the logo of the Nashville Predators hockey team, after a saber tooth of one was found beneath the site of Amsouth Center during an excavation.
- Baby Puss was the Saber-Toothed Tiger that Fred Flintstone would "put out for the night" during the closing credits of The Flintstones.
- Ka-Zar, a Tarzan stereotype from Marvel Comics, has a pet "Saber-Toothed Tiger" named Zabu, who helped raise Ka-Zar.
- Smildon of Time dangerous in Aladdin
- There were several Smilodon in the animated film Ice Age, most notably Diego (Denis Leary), one of the main characters, who also appears in the sequel, Ice Age 2: The Meltdown.
- Smilodon are mentioned in Gene Wolfe's series of novels The Book of the New Sun, which is set in the far future.
- The skeleton of an incredibly massive Smilodon appears in the film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
- On the anime series Medabots, a rich boy named Koji Karacuchi owns Sumilidon, an up-to-date Saber-Toothed Tiger-type Medabot.
- In the role-playing game Radiata Stories, the Smilodon appears as an enemy.
- A Smilodon is an animal available in the PC game Zoo Tycoon: Dinosaur Digs and upcoming Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals.
- In the MMORPG, World of Warcraft, the large cats and the Night Elves' racial mounts resemble the Smilodon with features from today's modern big cats and more prominent tails.
- The movie Sabretooth featured a Smilodon that was brought back to life from fossilized DNA.
- In the Dungeons & Dragons game, Saber-Toothed Tigers are a type of dire animal.
- The Smilodon is also an animal featured in Wildlife Park 2.
- In the novel Bodmin Moor, the Beast of Bodmin is revealed to be a Smilodon.
- In the 1977 movie Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, the climax takes place in the citadel of a giant Smilodon. The creature is brought to life by Ray Harryhausen's stop motion effects.
References
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