In today's animal world we find a whole diversity of species that surprise us with their characteristics, however, fossil finds also show us that in other times there were amazing animals, which have captured the attention of scientists and people in general. An example of this is found in the prehistoric felid known as the saber-toothed tiger.
If you are as surprised as we are by this prehistoric animal and want to know more about it, join us in this article on our site and discover the origin of the saber-toothed tiger , its characteristics, size and why it died out
Origin of the saber-toothed tiger
The taxonomic classification of felines has been surrounded by controversies and changes over time, something that has not only been in relation to current species, but also to extinct ones. However, with scientific progress and the application of new study techniques at the molecular level, certain enigmas have been cleared up in this regard. Traditionally, the different types of felines are divided into two large groups or subfamilies:
- Pantherinae: which includes large representatives such as the lion, the tiger and the leopard, among others.
- Felinae: where smaller species are found, such as the cougar, the cheetah and the domestic cat, as well as others.
In the evolutionary history of the animal kingdom there have been different individuals known as "saber teeth", but they belonged to different groups, since this peculiar characteristic of prominent teeth enters into the process known as " convergent evolution", where certain traits occur in a similar way in different species. Now, in relation specifically to the saber-toothed tiger, this, as well as other feline species that also presented this peculiarity in their dental structures, corresponds to a sister taxon of the ancestors of the current members of the group Felinae, although for a time it was considered to be more closely related to the group Pantherinae.
The saber-toothed tiger belonged to the genus Smilodon, which is why it is also known as "smilodon". But, as we have mentioned, there have been controversies from which this genus has not escaped and, although one of the best known and named saber-toothed tiger species is Smilodon fatalis, two more have also been mentioned: Smilodon populator and Smilodon gracilis, the latter equally extinct.
When did the saber-toothed tiger exist?
What was the era and period of the saber-toothed tiger? This feline lived in the Pleistocene, which occurred 2.5 million years ago and ended approximately 10,000 years ago. These animals spread throughout practically the entire American continent, coinciding with the epoch known as the Ice Age, which was the most recent glaciation that occurred on the planet.
As a curious fact about the saber-toothed tiger, we can say that it is represented as one of the main characters in one of the most popular animated sagas among children and adults: Ice Age.
Sabre-toothed tiger evolution
Regarding the evolution of the saber-toothed tiger, it is estimated that the felines came to America from Eurasia. Already in this last region inhabited some of these animals with characteristics similar to saber teeth. Apparently, in the genus Megantereon, also from the feline group, is the ancestor of the saber-toothed tiger, which came to North America. Later, this animal was replaced by Smilodon, which spreads to the rest of the continent.
In this sense, Smilodon and Homotherium (another group of extinct prehistoric cats), although they were sister taxa of the ancestors of the cats that live today, are not directly related to the latter. Thus, for example, the saber-toothed tiger is not a close relative of tigers or any other living cat
Characteristics of the saber-toothed tiger
The saber-toothed tiger has been portrayed as an amazing animal, a predator with strength and size that surpassed that of today's big cats. However, more recently it has been suggested that not everything documented about this animal is entirely true.
Wondering how tall a saber-toothed tiger is? Let's know below the characteristics of this incredible prehistoric animal to know the dimensions of the size and weight of the saber-toothed tiger and many more features:
- Different weights are reported for the three saber-toothed tiger species mentioned. Thus, for S. gracilis has been reported to weigh between 55 and 100 kg. With an intermediate weight we find S. fatalis, although previously thought to have greater mass, has been estimated at between 160 and 280 kg. The largest was S. populator, with weights from 220 to 360 kg, although even could have reached 400 kg
- The size of the saber-toothed tiger, in all cases, was more than a meter long.
- Its most distinctive feature was the rather long canine teeth, which in the case of S. fatalis reached about 18 cm and in S. populator are estimated at about 28 cm.
- They were animals of strong build, with relatively short legs and a smaller tail in relation to body size.
- They were predators that ambushed their prey in areas with forest cover, they did not hunt in open spaces.
- It has been revealed that the forelimbs were very powerful, in fact more powerful than any feline that has ever lived. Therefore, before using their large teeth, which were susceptible to fractures, they immobilized prey with their legs.
- The coat is considered to have been smooth and could have had spotted patterns like some extant felids, a common trait in certain species that inhabit in areas with closed vegetation.
Sabre-toothed tiger feeding
Unlike what was thought before, that they hunted large animals that exceeded them in size, the diet of this animal could have been more centered on deer and tapirs. Eventually, he could also hunt a type of bison.
When and why did the saber-toothed tiger become extinct?
There has been a strong debate between the causes and why the saber-toothed tiger became extinct. Among the reasons that have been raised, on the one hand, we find that with the climate change that happened at that time, when temperatures began to rise, many animals, Like various species of herbivores, they were unable to adapt to the changes, which is why they ended up becoming extinct. As these herbivores constituted the main diet of the saber-toothed tiger, it also succumbed, unlike, for example, other carnivores such as coyotes, which made their diet more flexible in terms of the type of prey, in addition to incorporating carrion, which allowed to resist the ecological change of the moment.
On the other hand, it has also been suggested that it was climate change that directly influenced the process of extinction of the Smilodon genus, but also competition and indiscriminate hunting of the humans of that time, who began to inhabit and spread through the territories where the saber-toothed tiger lived, which pressed in a disproportionate way to the point of total disappearance. Thus, it is not unreasonable that it was not a single factor that caused the extinction of the saber-toothed tiger and that it was a combination of the named factors that led to these animals not resisting these various events.
If you have been surprised by all the information about the saber-toothed tiger that we have shared, do not stop learning and consult this other article: "Extinct feline species".
