What Is Smilodon? About The Genus Of Saber-Toothed Tiger
SMILODON – In this topic, we are going to know and learn about the genus of saber-toothed tigers known as Smilodon.
As mentioned above, it is a genus of the cat family Felindae and under the now-extinct machairodont subfamily Machairodontinae. It is commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger.
The genus lived in the Americas during the Pleistocene era and was named in 1842 based on Fossils from Brazil. The name means “scalpel” or “two-edged knife” which is combined with “tooth”.
There are three known species:
- S. gracilis
- the smallest known saber-toothed cat. The specific epithet means “slender” in Latin.
- S. fatalis
- a species which is similar in weight to the modern Siberian tiger. The specific epithet means “fate or destiny” in Latin but Joseph Leidy, an American paleontologist, presumably intended it to be derived from the English term “fatal”, meaning deadly or causing death.
- S. populator
- The largest species of this genus native to South America. The specific epithet, if in Latin, is derived from populor, whcih means ‘ravage, devastate, plunder, or destroy’ among others.
These cats hunted large herbivores such as bison and camels in North America. It is said to have killed its prey by holding it still with its forelimbs and biting it, however, the manner of biting was still unknown.
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