Contents

Profile (and extended sign text)
True to Life?

Profile

Species: gracilis, fatalis, populator
Range: Quaternary (Pleistocene, 1.8 MYA—12,000 YA) from United States, Central and South America
Size estimate: 5-7 ft length, 120-880 lbs
Discovery: Joseph Leidy, 1877
Classification: synapsida, mammalia, carnivora, felidae, machairodontidae

People often call this cat a saber-toothed tiger. But Smilodon and other members of the machairodont family were not closely related to tigers. Modern cats and the sabertooths diverged from a common ancestor roughly 14 million years ago. The title “saber-toothed cat” better describes the animal in terms of its pedigree. They may look similar, but the term “tiger” only fits as well as “saber-toothed lion” or “saber-toothed jaguar.”

The massive, bizarre fangs of these cats could measure up to 11 inches long in the biggest species, Smilodon populator. They grew even longer than a Tyrannosaurus rex’s teeth, which measured 9 inches at most. About 1/3 of the length of a Smilodon’s fangs would have been embedded in the skull to keep them rooted. Unlike Tyrannosaurus, Smilodon could not grow new teeth if one broke.

The fangs’ length corresponds with a wider gape for Smilodon’s jaws. Modern lions can only open their mouth about 60˚, but Smilodon could achieve a snake-like 120˚. To accommodate such an extreme hinge, its jaw muscles were reduced, giving it a much weaker bite than modern big cats. Recent studies suggest, however, that they may have made up for smaller biting muscles with a special biting technique. When biting, they may have used their necks and forelimbs to help drive the fangs into their prey. The blade-like shape of these fangs and the unusual presence of serrations may also indicate a slashing function. As intimidating as they look, the size and shape of the fangs may have subjected them to greater stresses, leading to increased breakage.

The famous Rancho La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles have preserved thousands of Smilodon bones. Evidence from these fossils and others has led to debates over Smilodon’s social life, behavior, and how to restore them accurately. It is possible that different species of Smilodon may have adopted radically different behaviors. A modern cat genus, Panthera, includes lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, and snow leopards. Each of these species displays a surprising range of fur coloration, hunting styles, and social behavior. Perhaps different species of Smilodon showed a similar range of diversity. If so, different theories proposed for Smilodon may prove correct in one species but not in another.

True to Life?

Since no one has ever seen a living dinosaur, and the missing pieces of the fossil record withhold important clues to their appearance, no artistic representation of a dinosaur ever gets it 100% right. On top of that, new discoveries can change our ideas of extinct creatures drastically. So, how close does this sculpture come to what we know of the original animal?

• Despite living in the Pleistocene, Smilodon preferred temperate to warm environments, meaning that we don’t have any Smilodon mummies complete with fur to inform the color scheme of our sculptures. Considering how many different species of feline adopt spotted coloration, and considering how Smilodon’s range overlapped substantially with that of modern jaguars, we opted to go with jaguar-like spots. Any coloration artists may adopt for Smilodon remains entirely speculative at this point.
• The light build of these sculptures suggests they represent Smilodon gracilis, the smallest, skinniest species. Some evidence hints that this particular species may have preferred forested habitats, which further justifies the spotted coat on these statues.
• Though we don’t know exactly how saber cats hunted and killed prey, we know one thing for sure: the method differed substantially from modern throttling cats. Saber cats’ ginormous fangs weren’t just for show—they have a feature unusual for mammals but common in reptiles, especially dinosaurs, and even ancient mammal relatives like Dimetrodon. Their teeth have saw edges. These steak-knife fangs played such an important role in their lives that even kittens had them. Scientists debate on what exactly that means in terms of predatory behavior, but when it comes to sculpting them, the main thing is to get the size and shape right. These sculptures don’t get the placement or shape quite right, not to mention they lack serrations, but considering how they’re meant to be viewed at a distance, fudging on the details creates fewer problems.
• The cubs have fangs apparently comparable in their proportions to those of modern cats, but since the fangs grew in slowly, this could just mean they aren’t quite weaned yet. Their size and proximity to an adult (let’s assume she’s their mother) corroborate that interpretation.
• As mentioned in the Profile text above, upper body strength played a crucial role in Smilodon’s attack strategy. Again, assuming these sculptures represent Smilodon gracilis, we should expect a light build, but even so, the arms and upper torso could use a little more robust musculature. Time to get these guys a gym membership, maybe? Nah.
• Smilodon was indeed a short-tailed cat, like a bobcat or lynx. Long tails have been presumed to act as a counterbalance for leaps or high-speed maneuvers, but short tails don’t seem to act as a liability in terms of maneuverability. Scientists don’t yet have a good explanation for why wildcat species sometimes grow short tails—Manx cats, on the other hand, lack tails because of a mutation arising from hybridization with Norwegian wildcats brought to the Isle of Man by Viking traders.
• The angle of the adult’s pounce doesn’t seem quite right for attacking the bear. Maybe she heard something outside, pounced before looking, and is correcting in midair now that she’s realized just what she’s up against!
• Behind the Scenes: the light build for these sculptures results from using a cougar’s and house cats’ taxidermy forms as a basis. Future replacements will probably opt for a different design strategy, and may attempt reconstruction of Smilodon fatalis instead, making this scene a little more appropriate for the Intermountain West.