Smilodon (name meaning "Knife Tooth"), also called the Saber-Tooth Cat as well as incorrectly once called the Saber-Tooth Tiger, is a genus of saber-toothed felidae that originated during the Early Pleistocene epoch in what is now North and South America. Defiantly the most famous prehistoric cat of all time, Smilodon is recognized for their two large, saber-like teeth, as its name suggests.
Thought to have been extinct for 10,000 years, there are still some that remain alive on Primeval Island. In fact, they are one of the island's apex predators. They are also one of the most common cats on the Island, alongside the Cave Lion, American Lion, American Cheetah, Dinofelis, and Ngandong Tiger.
Facts[]
Era & Discovery[]
Among the apex predators of the Pleistocene, Smilodon lived throughout North and South America during the Early Pleistocene epoch, over 2 million years ago, sharing its environment with other animals, such as the Woolly Mammoth, Arctotherium, Titanis, Steppe Bison, and the Dire Wolf. Smilodon went extinct around 10,000 years ago when the prey they specialized in killing disappeared as well as being hunted by early humans.
Discovery and Region[]
First discovered by Lund in 1842, Smilodon fossils have been discovered in Brazil, the United States, and many other countries in the Americas, with fossils being found as far north as Canada, and as far south as Argentina. Since then, Smilodon has become the most famous of all prehistoric feline of all and among the most famous prehistoric animals in the world.
Physical Description[]
There have been many different species of Smilodon. The largest, at over 500 kilograms, is S. populator. Females had large, stocky front legs and that's because of the large animals, like Steppe bison, that they had to bring down. As a result, Smilodon was a very large, very solid cat, built to wrestle their prey into submission rather than to chase it down. Powerfully built, Smilodon possessed large, deadly saber-teeth that it used to kill its prey by crushing its throat, and it was capable of running at immense speeds of approximately 60 kph (37 mph). However, despite their speed and power, Smilodon were not built to chase down small and fast-moving deer or gazelle-like prey.
When Smilodon used their saber teeth, one devastating bite to the throat of their prey and their saber-teeth sliced through all the major blood vessels, simultaneously severing the blood supply and the jugular, and therefore strangled and crushed the windpipe. That meant the prey couldn't attack back, couldn't kick them with hooves, couldn't injure them at all. One single bite and the prey was dead. Those Sabre–Teeth were a really ingenious killing technique, but only when the prey was totally subdued are the famous sabers drawn. They were extraordinary precise and accurate tools for killing.
But these were the original double-edged swords. The lethal 20-centimeter sabers were actually quite fragile. Since they could not bite into bone, Smilodon could only eat the fleshier parts of a carcass. It's those huge incisor teeth that made the Sabre Tooth Cat such a successful, specialized killer.
Behavior & Traits[]
Some scientists today theorize that Smilodon lived and behaved in an almost identical way to modern African lions. For example, Smilodon lived in tightly–knit clans. Male Smilodon could take over clans at the age of four years, the females did at least 90% of the hunting, and males doing most of the inner-breed fighting. Though they typically hunted in packs, a single Smilodon was just as dangerous as a pack of them. Like many predators, they would typically go for easy prey and would pick off any who strayed from the group.
Smilodon also used similar techniques as lions to hunt prey. When hunting, the females hunted together as a pack, inching forward to set the trap. They would stalk animal herds for up to two hours if need be. Gradually, they fanned out with the lead female moving wide – trying to encircle their prey. Smilodon were powerful killers and these cats were able to accelerate explosively at amazing bursts of speed, but like all cats, they could only run over a short distance as they were not built for long chases. Unless they got close, they didn't stand a chance. Even one false move and they would have to start all over again.
Once they charged at their prey, Smilodon erupted out of the grass. The lead female drove the prey towards the other females. Surprisingly, as the females fought to restrain their prey, they did not use their infamous teeth, in case they break them. First, they worked together to pin down the struggling animal under the weight of their bodies. Smilodon killed its prey by using its immense strength to pin its prey down before crushing its prey's throat with its saber-teeth. Only when the prey is totally subdued are the famous sabers drawn.
Like some modern-day species of large cats, Smilodon would gnaw on the bones of their prey. But when fighting against more capable and defensive prey or opponents, Smilodon would instead go into an extremely wild, uncontrolled, dangerous and unpredictable battle frenzy; madly slashing at the opponent with its claws, and lashing out at anything else in its way that got too close.
Trivia[]
- The sound effects for Smilodon are the typical large cat roars, specifically leopard, lion, and tiger.
Gallery[]
