Classification and species

• Smilodon gracilis, 2.5 million-500,000 years ago; the smallest and earliest species with an estimated body mass of only 55-100 kg 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 (the ability of the canine teeth to resist bending forces without breaking) and bite forces indicate that saber-toothed cats' teeth were stronger relative to the bite force than those of modern "big cats". In addition, Smilodon could open its jaws 120 degrees, whereas the lion can only open its jaws to 65 degrees.

  Limbs

  Smilodon had relatively shorter and more massive limbs than other felines. It had well developed flexors and extensors 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.

  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. 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 male-dominated 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, ground sloths and the young of mammoths (Jeffersonian mammoth, imperial mammoth, Columbian mammoth, Woolly mammoth) and mastodons.
     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. Research in 2007 concluded that that Smilodon more probably 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. The leaders of this study also commented to scientific journalists that this technique 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. Jeff Rovin's novel Fatalis is based around a family of sabre-toothed cats coming into a conflict with humans in modern-day Southern California.
  

  Further Information

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