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Smilodon SMILE-o-don (a
bahuvrihi from Greek: σμιλη "knife" and (Ionic) οδων "tooth") is an
extinct genus of large machairodontine saber-toothed cats that are
understood to have lived between approximately 3 million to 10,000
years ago in North and South America. They are the only known
successors to Machairodus. Smilodon means knife tooth,
an entirely appropriate name given its enormous fangs. The smilodon
species are also known as Saber-Toothed Cats or
Saber-Toothed Tigers
A fully-grown Smilodon weighed
approximately 200 kilograms (450 pounds) and had a short tail,
powerful legs and a large head. About the size of a lion, smilodon was
extremely powerful. Its jaws could open 120 degrees. Its fangs were
about 17 cm (7 inches) long.
Many Smilodon fossils have been
unearthed at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. The Smilodon
is the prehistoric cat that researchers know the most about.
"smilodon" WikipediaŽ 2006 |
