saber tooth tiger facts
Saber-toothed Tiger Facts
Armed with their saber-like maxillary canines from which they derived their name, the sabre-toothed cats ruled the Earth around 9 million years ago. Fighting against all odds, they survived right up to the last ice age, i.e. till roughly around 10,000 years ago, before becoming extinct.
Did you know...
...that although renowned for their long and scary-looking teeth, the Saber-tooth cats had a weaker bite than other cats? This was because their two large teeth were actually very brittle and fragile, and could break easily. Many of today's cats also have a more powerful bite than these impressive, prehistoric creatures.Interesting Facts about Saber-tooth Tigers
Scientific Classification
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Carnivora |
| Family | Felidae |
| Sub Family | Machairodontinae |
| Genus | Smilodon |
| Species | S. fatalis, S. gracilis, Smilodon populator |
- Smilodon gracilis
- Smilodon fatalis
- Smilodon populator
Appearance
Hunting and Diet
➥ These tigers were carnivores as indicated by their large canines. They were predators that hunted down medium-sized mammals like the bison, deer and horses.
➥ They are also thought to be scavengers. They had baby teeth like humans. Once the baby teeth fell out, the adult canines would grow about 8 millimeters per month for 18 months.
➥ They used to wrestle the prey on ground and the canines would pierce the throat and cut the jugular vein. It could cut through the trachea as well, and help in killing the prey. Unlike modern wild cats, saber-tooths did not kill by crushing the windpipe. The reason may be they did not have strong jaw muscles and its skull as well as canines were not strong enough to resist the force. Their skull and/or canines would have snapped, killing or injuring them instead of/along with the prey.
Behavior
➥ Saber-tooth cats were thought to be social animals like the modern-day lions that live in prides or pairs. They may have hunted in small groups during the early part of the day. They probably spent the latter part of the day, sleeping or lazing. Like all cats, they could remain still for a long time, thus making them very difficult to spot.
➥ Their ability to lie still made them good hunters, but it is theorized that they were not as fast as some of today's cats. Thus, they could not run after smaller prey that was faster than they were. They would kill a prey and drag it into a bush or long shrubs to protect their kill from scavengers.
➥ Through observations of fossils it is clear that they had hyoid bones in the throat to support the larynx. These bones are seen only in cats that can roar, like the lion, which helps them communicate with other cats over long distances. This provides sufficient evidence that they roared similar to the lions, and may have possibly lived in similar social settings.Why did Saber-tooth Cats Become Extinct?
Other Interesting Facts
- The saber-tooths had a very warm fur coat that protected them from extreme weather during the Ice Age.
- It is theorized that the Smilodons used their coat to camouflage themselves during hunting.
- In a similar vein, they probably also used their whiskers like all cats, for sense of touch during dark and feeling things around them.
- The tail helped the saber-toothed tigers to balance, when running and leaping over prey.
- They were more closely related to lions than tigers.
- The most common mammal fossils found in the Rancho La Brea tar pits in California are of saber-tooth cats.
- These early predators lived about 1.5 million years ago and became extinct only 10,000 years ago.