Smilodon is a genus of the extinct machairodont subfamily of the felids. It is one of the most famous prehistoric mammals and the best known saber-toothed cat. The genus was named in 1842 based on fossils from Brazil; the generic name means’scalpel’ or ‘two-edged knife’ and ‘tooth’
About Smilodon in brief
Smilodon is a genus of the extinct machairodont subfamily of the felids. It is one of the most famous prehistoric mammals and the best known saber-toothed cat. It was not closely related to the tiger or other modern cats. Smilodon lived in the Americas during the Pleistocene epoch. The genus was named in 1842 based on fossils from Brazil; the generic name means’scalpel’ or ‘two-edged knife’ and ‘tooth’ Three species are recognized today: S. gracilis, S. fatalis, and S. ‘populator’ S. populator from South America was the largest species, at 220 to 436 kg in weight and 120 cm in height. The hundreds of individuals obtained from the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles constitute the largest collection of Smilodont fossils. The coat pattern is unknown, but it has been artistically restored with plain or spotted patterns. Its reliance on large animals has been proposed as the cause of its extinction, along with climate change and competition with other species. It died out at the same time that most North and South American megafauna disappeared, about 10,000 years ago. It would have matched the largest modern predators in size, and was more robust than any modern cat. In North America, it hunted large herbivores such as bison and camels, and it remained successful even when encountering new prey species in South America.
It probably lived in closed habitats such as forests and bush, which would have provided cover for ambushing prey. Scientists debate whether it had a social or a solitary lifestyle; analysis of modern predator behavior could be construed to lend support to either view. Some South American specimens have been referred to other genera, species, and subgenera, such as Smilidion riggioni, SmilODonta riggi, and Smiliodon ensadensis, but these are now thought to be junior synonyms of S.populator. Some authors used Lund’s original name neogaea instead of populator, but this is now considered an invalid nomenum as it was not accompanied with a description of the type specimens and no type specimens were designated. It has also been translated as \”tooth shaped like double-edged knives\” or ‘the destroyer which has also brought devastation’, as well as ‘he who brings devastation’ in the Ancient Greek meaning of’smilodon’ The species name ‘populator’ has been used since 1842, but some authors use ‘nomenon’ instead of’snake’ to refer to a species of snake. The name of the genus is ‘S. populator’, which means’snacker’ in Latin and’snail’ in English, and is used as a synonym for’snout’ in the Greek language.
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This page is based on the article Smilodon published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 01, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
