Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (December 2007)

Smilodon Fossil range: Late Pliocene to Late Pleistocene
Illustration of a Smilodon.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Subfamily: Machairodontinae Genus: Smilodon Lund, 1842
Species
Smilodon fatalis Smilodon gracilis Smilodon populator Smilodon Records is an independent record label and music publisher founded in 2004 by Eva Karman Reinhold. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The Pliocene epoch (spelled Pleiocene in some older texts) is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5. ... The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) on the geologic timescale is the period from 1,808,000 to 11,550 years BP. The Pleistocene epoch had been intended to cover the worlds recent period of repeated glaciations. ... Image File history File links Smilodon from www. ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of sweat glands, including milk producing sweat glands, and by the presence of: hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex... Families 17, See classification The diverse order Carnivora (IPA: or ; from Latin carō (stem carn-) flesh, + vorāre to devour) includes over 260 species of placental mammals. ... “Feline” redirects here. ... Tribes Metailurini Homotheriini Smilodontini Machairodontinae is a subfamily of the Felidae (true cats). ... Peter Wilhelm Lund (1801 – 1880) was a Danish zoologist and paleontologist. ... Binomial name (Leidy, 1869) Smilodon fatalis (the deadly Smilodon) is possibly the best-known of the machairodontine saber-toothed cats. ... Binomial name Smilodon gracilis Cope, 1880 Smilodon gracilis (the slender Smilodon) was the smallest and earliest of the smilodont machairodontine saber-toothed cats. ... Binomial name Lund, 1842 Smilodon populator (the Smilodon that brings devastation) was a machairodontine saber-toothed cat species. ...

Smilodon californicus at the La Brea Tar Pits

Smilodon (pronounced /ˈsmаɪləˌdɒn/), sometimes called saber-toothed tiger is an extinct genus of large machairodontine saber-toothed cats that lived between approximately 2,5 million to 10,000 years ago in North and South America. They are called "saber-toothed" for the extreme length of their maxillary canines. 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. The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County has many of their complete skeletons. Despite the colloquial name of "saber-toothed tiger", Smilodon is not closely related to a tiger, which belongs to another subfamily, the Pantherinae but is a member of the extinct subfamily Machairodontinae. The name Smilodon is a bahuvrihi from Ancient Greek: σμίλη, smilē, "knife" and Ionic Greek ὀδών, odon, "tooth"). It was among the largest felids, the heaviest specimens of this massively built carnivore may have reached a body mass of up to 400 kg ^[1]. La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles Countys Miracle Mile District. ... For other uses, see Extinction (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Genus (disambiguation). ... Tribes Metailurini Homotheriini Smilodontini Machairodontinae is a subfamily of the Felidae (true cats). ... The fossilized skeleton of a saber-toothed cat (Smilodon californicus). ... North American redirects here. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... The maxillary canine is the tooth located laterally (away from the midline of the face) from both maxillary lateral incisors of the mouth but mesial (toward the midline of the face) from both maxillary first premolars. ... La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles Countys Miracle Mile District. ... The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County opened in Exposition Park in 1913 as the Museum of History, Science, and Art. ... For other uses, see Tiger (disambiguation). ... Genera Neofelis Panthera Uncia Pantherinae is a sub-family of the family Felidae which include the genera Panthera, Uncia and Neofelis. ... Tribes Metailurini Homotheriini Smilodontini Machairodontinae is a subfamily of the Felidae (true cats). ... A bahuvrihi (बहुवृहि), or bahuvrihi compound, is a particular kind of compound word that refers to something that is not specified by any of its parts by themselves (i. ... Beginning of Homers Odyssey The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage of the Greek language[1] as it existed during the Archaic (9th–6th centuries BC) and Classical (5th–4th centuries BC) periods in Ancient Greece. ... Distribution of Greek dialects, ca. ...

Classification 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. For other uses, see Genus (disambiguation). ... Table of natural history, 1728 Cyclopaedia Natural history is an umbrella term for what are now often viewed as several distinct scientific disciplines of integrative organismal biology. ... A paleontologist carefully chips rock from a column of dinosaur vertebrae. ... Peter Wilhelm Lund (1801 – 1880) was a Danish zoologist and paleontologist. ... 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... A fossil Ammonite Fossils are the mineralized remains of animals or plants or other traces such as footprints. ... Binomial name Lund, 1842 Smilodon populator (the Smilodon that brings devastation) was a machairodontine saber-toothed cat species. ... Lagoa Santa is a small city and municipality in southeast Goiás state, Brazil. ... For other uses, see State (disambiguation). ... Capital (and largest city) Belo Horizonte Demonym Mineiro Government  -  Governor Aécio Neves  -  Vice Governor Antônio Augusto Junho Anastasia Area  -  Total 588,528. ...

Several Smilodon species have been described, but today usually only three species are distinguished^[2].

• Smilodon gracilis, 2.5 million-500,000 years ago; the smallest and earliest species with an estimated body mass of only 55-100 kg ^[1] was probably the successor^[clarify] of Megantereon. The other Smilodon species probably derived from this species.
• Smilodon fatalis, 1.6 million-10,000 years ago, replaced Smilodon gracilis in North America and Western South America. In size it was between Smilodon gracilis and Smilodon populator. The estimated body mass for this species ranges from 160 to 220 kg ^[1]. Sometimes two additional species are recognized, Smilodon californicus and Smilodon floridus, but usually they are considered to be subspecies of Smilodon fatalis.
• Smilodon populator, 1 million-10,000 years ago; occurred in the eastern parts of South America and was the largest species of all Machairodonts. With an estimated weight of 200 to 300 kg and exceptional large specimens probably up to 400 kg, it was among the heaviest felids to have ever existed ^[1].Its upper canines reached 28cm and protruded up to 17 cm out of the upper jaw.

Binomial name Smilodon gracilis Cope, 1880 Smilodon gracilis (the slender Smilodon) was the smallest and earliest of the smilodont machairodontine saber-toothed cats. ... Species Megantereon nihowanensis Megantereon cultridens Megantereon whitei Megantereon gracile Megantereon eurynodon Megantereon megantereon Megantereon vakhshensis Megantereon ekidoit The Megantereon was an early saber-toothed cat. ... Binomial name (Leidy, 1869) Smilodon fatalis (the deadly Smilodon) is possibly the best-known of the machairodontine saber-toothed cats. ... Binomial name Smilodon californicus Bovard, 1907 Smilodon californicus (Smilodon of California) is a machairodontin saber-toothed cat. ... Binomial name Lund, 1842 Smilodon populator (the Smilodon that brings devastation) was a machairodontine saber-toothed cat species. ...

Anatomy

Smilodon fatalis skull.

A fully-grown Smilodon weighed approximately 55-300 kilograms, depending on species. It had a short tail, powerful legs, muscular neck and long canines. Slightly smaller than a tiger, Smilodon was extremely powerful and was quite bear-like in build. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 578 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1920 × 1992 pixel, file size: 904 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Skull of Smilodon fatalis at Ueno Royal Museum. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 578 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1920 × 1992 pixel, file size: 904 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Skull of Smilodon fatalis at Ueno Royal Museum. ...

Teeth and jaws

Smilodon is most famous for its relatively long canines. They are the longest canines of the saber-toothed cats at about 17 cm (7 inches) long in the largest species Smilodon populator. They were probably built more for stabbing than slashing. Despite being more powerfully built than other large cats Smilodon actually had a weaker bite. Modern big cats have more pronounced zygomatic arches, while Smilodon had smaller zygomatic arches which restricted the thickness and therefore power of the temporalis muscles, and thus reduced Smilodon’s bite force. Analysis of its narrow jaws indicates that it could produce a bite only a third as strong of that of a lion.^[3] There seems to a be a general rule that the saber-toothed cats with the largest canines had proportionally weaker bites. However, analyses of canine bending strength (ability to resist bending forces witout breaking) and bite forces indicate that saber-toothed cats were capable of delivering a strong killing bite with their realtively small jaw adductors by using auxiliary force from head depressing neck muscles.^[4] In addition, Smilodon could open its jaws 120 degrees, whereas the lion can only open its jaws to 65 degrees. In mammalian oral anatomy, the canine teeth, also called cuspids, dogteeth, fangs, or (in the case of those of the upper jaw) eye teeth, are relatively long, pointed teeth. ... The zygomatic bone (also known as the zygoma; Os Zygomaticum; Malar Bone) is a paired bone of the human skull. ... The temporalis muscle is one of the muscles of mastication. ... This article describes the unit of angle. ...

Limbs

Smilodon had relatively shorter and more massive limbs than other felines. It had well developed flexors and extensors^{[citation needed]} in its forepaws, which enabled it to pull down large prey. The back limbs had powerfully built adductor muscles which might have helped the cat's stability when wrestling with prey. Like most cats, its claws were retractable. Adductor can refer to: One of the anatomical terms of motion The adductor longus, adductor magnus, and adductor brevis muscles Adductor canal Category: ...

A smilodon shown to scale to demonstrate the compact muscular build.

Ecology

Social behaviour

The social pattern of this cat is unknown. Some fossils show healed injuries or diseases that would have crippled the animal. Some palaeontologists 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. Trinomial name Panthera leo atrox (Leidy, 1853) The American lion, also known as the North American or American cave lion, is an extinct feline known from fossils. ... Binomial name Leidy, 1858 For the BattleMech also known as Dire Wolf, see Daishi (BattleMech). ...

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.

Smilodon californicus fossil at the
National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC.

Smilodon californicus fossil at the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC; digital photo by User:Postdlf, 2/20/05 File links The following pages link to this file: Smilodon Smilodon californicus User:Postdlf/images Categories: GFDL images ... Smilodon californicus fossil at the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC; digital photo by User:Postdlf, 2/20/05 File links The following pages link to this file: Smilodon Smilodon californicus User:Postdlf/images Categories: GFDL images ... Inside the National Museum of Natural History, underneath the rotunda. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United...

Diet and hunting

Smilodon probably preyed on a wide variety of game including: bison, elk, deer, American camels, horses, ground sloths and the young of mammoths (Jeffersonian mammoth, imperial mammoth, Columbian mammoth, Woolly mammoth) and mastodons. Species †B. antiquus B. bison B. bonasus †B. latifrons †B. occidentalis †B. priscus Bison in winter. ... For other uses, see Elk (disambiguation). ... This article is about the ruminent animal. ... For other uses, see Camel (disambiguation). ... Families Rathymotheriidae Ameghino, 1904 Scelidotheriidae Ameghino, 1889 Mylodontidae Gill, 1872 Orophodontidae Ameghino, 1895 Megalonychidae Gervais, 1855 Megatheriidae Gray, 1821 Ground sloths are a diverse group of extinct edentate (Superorder Xenarthra) mammals that are believed to be relatives of tree sloths and three-toed sloths. ... The Jeffersonian Mammoth (Mammuthus jeffersonii) is a North American species of mammoth. ... Binomial name Mammuthus imperator (Leidy,1858) The Imperial Mammoth (Mammuthus imperator) was the largest known species of mammoth, reaching a height of 4. ... The Columbian Mammoth (Mammuthus Columbi) is an extinct sub-species of elephant that inhabited the Great Plain of North America between 100,000 and 14,000 years ago. ... Binomial name Blumenbach, 1799 For the rock band, see Wooly Mammoth (band). ... This article is about the prehistoric elephant-like animal. ...

Saber-Toothed Tiger model display in the La Brea Tar Pits Museum.

Modern big cats kill mainly by strangling their victims, which may take a few minutes. Smilodon’s jaw muscles were probably too weak for this and its long canines would have been vulnerable to snapping in a prolonged struggle. It's more likely that Smilodon used its great upper-body strength to wrestle prey to the ground, where its long canines could deliver a deep stabbing bite to the throat which would generally cut through the jugular vein and/or the trachea and thus kill the prey very quickly. This may have made Smilodon a more efficient killer of large prey than modern lions or tigers, but also made it more dependent on the supply of large animals. This highly-specialized hunting style may have contributed to its extinction, as Smilodon’s cumbersome build and over-sized canines would have made it less efficient at killing smaller, faster prey if the ecosystem changed for any reason^{[3][citation needed]}. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 1602 KB) The picture is of the Saber-tooth model display at the La Brea Tar Pits Museum. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 1602 KB) The picture is of the Saber-tooth model display at the La Brea Tar Pits Museum. ... La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles Countys Miracle Mile District. ... External and internal jugular veins bring deoxygenated blood from head region back to heart. ... Look up trachea in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A coral reef near the Hawaiian islands is an example of a complex marine ecosystem. ...

Extinction

Smilodon became extinct around 10,000 B.C. Some^{[attribution needed]} have suggested that humans could have indirectly contributed to its extinction, either by hunting the cats' main prey or by infecting the population with a virus.^{[citation needed]} Human beings are defined variously in biological, spiritual, and cultural terms, or in combinations thereof. ... This article is about biological infectious particles. ...

Others^{[attribution needed]} have suggested that the end of the ice age caused the extinction. As the ice age ended there would have been shrinking environments and changing vegetation patterns. Extensive grasslands, with different types of grasses, and isolated forests replaced healthy mixes of forests and grasslands^[sic]. The summer and winter both became more extreme and North America began to dry out or begin to be covered in snow, thus denying food sources for mammoths and in turn Smilodon. However, this theory does not explain how Smilodon and its ancestors successfully survived many previous interglacials. 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). ... An Inner Mongolia Grassland. ... For other uses, see SIC. Sic is a Latin word, originally sicut [1] meaning thus, so, or just as that. In writing, it is placed within square brackets and usually italicized — [sic] — to indicate that an incorrect or unusual spelling, phrase, punctuation, and/or other preceding quoted material has been... Glaciation, often called an ice age, is a geological phenomenon in which massive ice sheets form in the Arctic and Antarctic and advance toward the equator. ...

Popular Culture

Smilodon appears in various kinds in popular culture. Several Smilodon appear 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. 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. Grune The Destroyer; the ghost warrior, from the highly popular classic animated series Thundercats is a anthropomorphic Sabre-toothed tiger, villain and former Thundercat who once fought the Thundercats after escaping his tomb inside a giant tree on 3rd Earth. Once battled Jaga the previous Lord Of The Thundercats in a titanic battle lasting for days. Wields a 'spiked' battle club/mace as his choice of weapon. Baby Puss was the Saber-Toothed Tiger that Fred Flintstone would "put out for the night" during the closing credits of The Flintstones. The movie Sabretooth featured a Smilodon that was brought back to life from fossilized DNA. The Saber-Toothed Tiger was also the inspiration for the logo of the Nashville Predators hockey team, after a sabre tooth of one was found beneath the site of Amsouth Centre during an excavation. In the 2008 film 10,000 BC D'leh encounters a somewhat magnified Smilodon. Saber-Toothed Tigers appear in several computer games, like Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals or Dungeons & Dragons. Smilodon has appeared also as one of the main creatures of Impossible Pictures films Walking With Beasts and Prehistoric Park (fourth episode). Strangely, the former depicts Smilodon as living and hunting in groups like lions, but the latter depicts them hunting Toxodon alone. In Animal Planet's The Most Extreme, Smilodon was number five in the countdown of the most extreme 'Awesome Ancestors', in terms of size differences (Megatherium was number one), because it was 10 times bigger than its modern day relative, the Clouded Leopard. Image File history File linksMetadata Fightsabertoothtiger. ... This article is about the film. ... Denis Leary (born Denis Colin Leary on August 18, 1957) is a Golden Globe and Emmy Award-nominated American actor, comedian, writer and director. ... Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger is a 1977 fantasy movie, the final installment of Ray Harryhausens Sinbad Trilogy and the penultimate movie in which Harryhausen would use the stop-motion technique which he had pioneered since the late 1940s. ... Ray Harryhausen, with creations from Clash of the Titans. ... Stop motion is an animation technique which makes things that are static appear to be moving. ... ThunderCats is an American animated television series that was developed and produced by Rankin/Bass Productions, debuting in 1985, based on the characters created by Tobin Ted Wolf. ... Anthropomorphism, also referred to as personification or prosopopeia, is the attribution of human characteristics to inanimate objects, animals, forces of nature, and others. ... Baby Puss is the name of Fred and Wilma Flintstones pet saber-toothed tiger in the animated series The Flintstones. ... Information Nickname(s) Twinkletoes Aliases Frederick F. Flintstone Species Human Gender Male Age Mid 30s Occupation Crane Operator Family Ed Flintstone (father), Edna Flintstone (mother), Rocksy Rubble (granddaughter), Chip Rubble (grandson), Bamm-Bamm Rubble (son-in-law) Spouse(s) Wilma Flintstone Children Pebbles Flintstone Portrayed by Alan Reed, Henry... The Flintstones is an animated American television sitcom which ran from 1960 to 1966 on ABC. The Flintstones is about a working class Stone Age mans life with his family and his next door neighbor and best friend. ... Sabretooth is a 2002 film directed by James D.R. Hickox. ... The Nashville Predators are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. ... 10,000 BC is a 2008 prehistoric film directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Camilla Belle and Steven Strait. ... This article is about the role-playing game. ... For the TV post-production company based in Denver, Colorado, United States (official site), see !mpossible Pictures. ... // Walking with Beasts is a 2001 six-part television documentary produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom, narrated by Kenneth Branagh. ... Prehistoric Park is a six part television series in documentary style, from Impossible Pictures Limited, (the makers of Walking with Dinosaurs) which premiered on ITV on 22 July 2006 and on Animal Planet on 29 October 2006. ... The Most Extreme is a long-running documentary TV series on the American cable television network, Animal Planet. ... Megatheriinae were a subfamily of elephant-sized ground sloths that lived from 2 million to 8,000 years ago. ... Binomial name (Griffith, 1821) Range map Synonyms Felis macrocelis Felis marmota The Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) is a medium-sized cat, 55 to 110 cm (2 ft to 3 ft 6 in) long and weighing between 15 and 23 kg (33 to 50 lb). ...

Smilodon was also featured in the hit ITVseries Primeval, seen in episode 9. A woman named Valerie finds a young smilodon cub in her garage after it stumbled into an anomaly (portal in time) she raised it from a young age, keeping it hidden from the outside world in her house in the forest. However, once the creature grew to a significant size, it escaped and attacked visitors at a nearby amusement park. Although Valerie treated it like her own special companion, after she ordered it to attack Nick Cutter, it turned on her and mauled her to death. For other uses, see ITV (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Primeval (disambiguation). ... Professor Nick Cutter is a fictional character in the ITV science fiction television series Primeval. ...

Smilodon is also in the 2006 computer game ParaWorld. ParaWorld is a real-time strategy PC game released on September 25, 2006. ...

A new monster named "Smilodon" was added in the MMORPG Final Fantasy XI expansion Wings of the Goddess. It is a member of the Tiger family, all of which more closely resemble saber-toothed cats than modern-day tigers.^[5] An image from World of Warcraft, one of the largest commercial MMORPGs as of 2004, based on active subscriptions. ... Final Fantasy XI ), also known as Final Fantasy XI: Online, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) as a part of the Final Fantasy video game series. ...

References

Visualization of how a car deforms in an asymmetrical crash using finite element analysis. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ...

External links

• Schneider, Jens, Killing behavior in Smilodon fatalis (Mammalia, Carnivora, Felidae) based on functional anatomy and body proportions of the front- and hind limbs Diploma thesis in german language
• Sabre-toothed cats
• Sabre-toothed cat 'bit of a pussy'
• Smildon article at bluelion.org
• Western Center for Archaeology and Paleontology Hemet, CA