Smilodon (saber-toothed cat)Smilodon — habitat, diet and reproduction

Fossil Smilodon skull with two very long, curved upper canines

Smilodon skull on display at the Museum of Zoology of the University of São Paulo. · Wilfredor / CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). Cropped and resized.

The saber-toothed cat, known scientifically as Smilodon, was a large cat of the Americas with two long, curved upper canines like sabres. It lived about 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago and hunted large Ice Age animals. Although often called a “tiger”, it was not closely related to modern tigers.

Quick facts

Common name	Saber-toothed cat
Scientific name	Smilodon (genus of three species)
Lifespan	Not known precisely
Length	Body about 1.5–2 m, with a short tail
Weight	From about 55 kg (S. gracilis) to 220–400 kg (S. populator)
Diet	Carnivore: bison, horses, camels, ground sloths, young mammoths
Predators	Adults had none; they competed with other large carnivores
Conservation status	Extinct (EX), about 10,000 years ago
Distribution	North and South America
Habitat	Forests, savannas and grasslands
Family	Felidae (subfamily Machairodontinae)
Canines	Up to about 28 cm

Primary category:Mammals
Explore this animal's categories:
Animals of North America Animals of South America Carnivores Extinct animals Felids Furry animals Live-bearing animals Mammals S Vertebrates

Interesting facts

The largest canines could reach about 28 cm, part of them rooted in the jaw.
Smilodon could open its mouth to a very wide angle, about 120 degrees.
At La Brea in Los Angeles, fossils of thousands of Smilodon trapped in asphalt pools have been found.
Smilodon is the official state fossil of California.

Characteristics

Smilodon was more robust than today’s lions and tigers, with very powerful forelimbs and a short tail. Its muscular neck suited strong downward bites.

The upper canines were long and flattened, with finely serrated edges. They could break if twisted sideways, so the cat first pinned prey with its forelimbs.

Behaviour

Researchers think Smilodon hunted by ambush rather than long chases. It grabbed prey with its paws, wrestled it down and bit the throat, cutting blood vessels.

Some fossils with healed injuries show that wounded individuals survived for a long time, perhaps helped by others, so some researchers think Smilodon lived in groups like lions.

Habitat and distribution

Smilodon gracilis lived in eastern North America, Smilodon fatalis in North America and western South America, and the largest, Smilodon populator, in eastern South America.

It lived in forests, savannas and grasslands alongside other extinct large animals. It belonged to the cat family but to a separate, extinct branch.

Diet and feeding

Smilodon hunted large animals: bison, wild horses, American camels, ground sloths and probably young mammoths.

Chemical analyses of bones show it preferred prey from forests and wooded areas. Its long canines let it kill animals larger than itself quickly.

Reproduction and life cycle

Little is known about its reproduction. Like living cats, females probably had a few cubs that stayed with their mother until they learned to hunt.

Fossils show cubs first had milk teeth, and the long permanent canines grew slowly over about three years.

Name and history

The name Smilodon comes from Greek and means “knife tooth”. Calling it a “tiger” is misleading, as it was not closely related to tigers but belonged to the saber-toothed cats.

Smilodon appears in many films and cartoons about the Ice Age and is the symbol of the La Brea Tar Pits museum.

Conservation and threats

Smilodon became extinct about 10,000 years ago, together with many other large animals of the Americas. Probable causes are climate change at the end of the Ice Age, the loss of large prey and the arrival of humans.

Today its fossils help us understand how large predators coped with past changes.