WHAT IS SMILODON POPULATOR ?

Smilodon populator ("the devastating Smilodon") was a machairodontine saber-toothed cat species. Smilodon populator is the largest known variety of saber-toothed cat . It was about the size of a modern lion. The genus Smilodon was described by the Danish naturalist and palaeontologist Peter Wilhelm Lund in 1841. He found the first fossils of Smilodon populator in caves near the small town of Lagoa Santa, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Fossil

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Smilodon
Species: S. populator

BINOMIAL NAME

Smilodon populator
Lund, 1842

FOSSIL RANGE

Smilodon populator first appeared in South America about 1 million years ago (where it probably evolved from Smilodon fatalis). hese cats existed until around 10,000 years ago, when the last became extinct. To compare, all three have coexisted with humans for thousands of years. It is estimated by some anthropologists that humans may have arrived in the Americas as early as 25,000 years ago, although most would estimate closer to 11,000 years.

SIZE

It was much larger than its cousins, S. fatalis and S. gracilis. Standing at 120 cm at the shoulder, it was the size of a large lion. The average weight range has been estimated at somewhere between 360 to 470 kg, with the largest of males excessing 500 kg .It had sabers wich could be 7 to 8" long and were used for making the cats prey bleed to death while being held down by powerful forelimbs. These large canines were flat and wide with serrated edges.

FOOD

The saber-toothed cats roamed in packs of scavenger/hunters, eating large prey for which they were well-suited. They were scavengers who hunted large game together as a pack. Their massive bodies and canines and pack behavior made them more efficient hunters of large game and not so successful in chasing and capturing small game.

LIFESTYLE

The sabertooths lived in social groups like the prides of modern lions, rather than living as lone hunters like modern tigers. Their pack-style behavior is evidenced by the groups found at the La Brea tar pits and other locations which died together hunting a large trapped animal. Like lions, they would have heard the cries of injured or trapped animals and would have also become trapped as they responded to the cries in the tar pits. Paleontologists have also discovered healed wounds and crippling disease such as arthritis on Smilodon skeletons that point to the fact that the group cared for the injured and aged of the group who would not have been able to hunt on their own.

HUNTING STYLE

Saber-tooth tigers had less bite force than modern lions, but the canine teeth were stronger in resistance to breaking. They could open their jaws 120 degrees, whereas modern lions can only open their jaws to 65 degree angles. They used their saber teeth to stab, but not to hold an animal, as holding would break the teeth and there is little evidence for loss or breaking of their teeth. They would wait for their stabbings to kill the animal, and then they would feed.

SPEED

When comparing big cats in the wild today, a long tail is necessary for balance in running long distances in chasing prey. This would mean that Smilodons did not run great distances like the lion and cheetah, but rather ambushed their prey. While their social behavior was similar to modern lions, anatomically, with the bobtail, they were closer to modern bobcats than lions.

EXTINCTION

When North America collided with the South American land mass, the North American populations of Smilodon moved into the south and into the territory of the Terror Bird, which stood ten feet tall (3 m). A fierce competition developed between the top predators of the North and South Americas. The Birds were out-matched by the mammals, and 1 million years ago when the Smilodon populator was at the peak of its existence the Terror Birds soon became extinct. The end of the Ice Age in North America saw the decline of many large animals, both predators and herbivores alike. The loss of large prey and the hunting competition from prehistoric humans may have speeded the demise of Smilodon from North America. It is strongly suspected that Smilodon outcompeted the indigenous saber-toothed marsupial Thylacosmilus, which lived in South America during its period of isolation prior to the faunal exchange with North America that followed formation of the Isthmus of Panama. The competition for prey (such as Toxodon and Macrauchenia) with the invading Smilodon shortly led to the extinction of the marsupial sabre-tooth.

SOURCES

Wikipedia ,suite101.com, search.com, bluelion.org