Machairodontinae is a subfamily of the Felidae (true cats). It contains some of the extinct cats commonly known as "saber-toothed cats", including the famed genus Smilodon as well as other cats with only minor increases in the size and length of their canine teeth. Subfamilies Felinae Pantherinae Acinonychinae Machairodontinae (extinct) Cats are members of the family Felidae. ... The term saber-toothed cat describes numerous cat-like species that lived during various parts of the Cenozoic and evolved their saber-toothed characteristics entirely independently. ... Species Smilodon californicus Smilodon fatalis Smilodon gracilis Smilodon populator Smilodon (Greek: Knife-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. ... The Canine teeth are the long, pointed teeth used for grabbing hold of and tearing apart foods, also called cuspids, dogteeth or fangs. Species that feature them, such as humans and dogs, usually have four, two in the top jaw, two in the lower, on either side of the Incisors. ...

Teeth

Machairodonts are divided into two types: dirk-toothed and scimitar-toothed. Dirk-toothed cats had elongated, narrow upper canines and generally had stocky bodies. Scimitar-toothed cats had broader and shorter upper canines and a typically lither form with longer legs. The longer-toothed cats often had a bony flange that extended from their lower mandible. However, one genus, Xenosmilus, broke this mould, possessing both the stout heavy limbs associated with dirk-toothed cats, along with the stout canines of a scimitar-toothed cat. A flange is an external or internal rib, or rim, for strength, as the flange of an iron beam; or for a guide, as the flange of a car wheel; or for attachment to another object, as the flange on the end of a pipe, steam cylinder, etc. ... Species Xenosmilus Hodsonae Xenosmilus is a genus of extinct Machairodontinae, or saber toothed cat. ...

Relationship with other cats

The name 'saber-toothed tigers' is misleading. Machairodonts were not even in the same subfamily as tigers, there is no evidence that they had tiger-like coat patterns, and this broad group of animals certainly did not all live or hunt in the same manner as the modern tiger. DNA analysis published in 2005 confirmed and clarified cladistic analysis in showing that the Machairodontinae diverged early from the ancestors of modern cats and are not closely related to any living feline species. Tigers (Panthera tigris) are mammals of the Felidae family and one of four big cats in the Panthera genus. ... Space-filling model of a section of DNA molecule Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life (and most viruses). ... This cladogram shows the relationship among various insect groups. ...

Habitat

It is commonly thought that saber-toothed cats lived only in cold areas caused by an ice age. While some certainly did live in snowy conditions during an ice age, Machairodonts stretch back into the warmer climates of the Oligocene, and their diversification paralleled the growth of prairie biomes; they became extinct only in the last 10,000 years. Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... The Oligocene epoch is a geologic period of time that extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present. ... In ecology, a biome is a major regional group of distinctive plant and animal communities best adapted to the regions physical environment. ...

Hunting techniques

The method by which machairodonts hunted is hotly debated. It was originally thought that they used a 'stabbing' motion with their teeth (dropping their jaws wide open, baring their teeth, and thrashing downward). However, this is now considered unlikely, for the teeth, being so long, were fragile, and a large prey animal thrashing about could easily injure the teeth, which would impair hunting. Some scientists suggest that the cats slashed at the bellies of large animals with their teeth and waited for them to die of blood loss, although the risk of breakage would still be high. When the bite of a dirk toothed cat is matched against the neck of a large ungulate, however, it shows that the bite would sever all arteries and veins, while acting as a clamp around the windpipe. This method would still have been risky for the teeth if the prey moved too much, but less risky than the stabbing method; with the neck bite, the cat would be anchored with its incisors and lower canines. Also, if the cats worked in prides (there is evidence that some species may have), they could have subdued the animal before performing the killing bite. Llamas such as this, which have two toes, are artiodactylas -- even toed ungulates Ungulates (meaning roughly hoofed or hoofed animal) make up several orders of mammals, of which six to eight survive. ... Pride logo PRIDE or PRIDE Fighting Championships is a mixed martial arts organization based in Japan. ...

External link

• Report on Barnett group's study in Current Biology August 9, 2005: Ross Barnett et al.: "Evolution of the extinct Sabretooths and the American cheetah-like cat" in Current Biology, Vol. 15, R589-R590, August 9, 2005