Smilodon Basics
This saber-toothed predator was built for the Ice Age.
What is Smilodon?
Smilodon lived during this geological epoch
What is the Pleistocene Epoch?
Smilodon used these body parts to pin prey before the kill.
What are strong forelimbs and wide jaws?
Smilodon played this important ecological role
What is an apex predator?
The name “Smilodon” translates to this in Greek.
What is "knife tooth"?
This describes the general temperature and environment of Smilodon's time
What is cold and glacial, like a giant snow globe?
These teeth could reach up to 11 inches and weren’t for bone-crunching
What are saber canines?
By eating big plant-eaters, Smilodon helped prevent this
What is overgrazing?
Smilodon belonged to this family of animals
What is the cat family (Felidae)?
Smilodon hunted animals like bison, camels, and this fuzzy giant
What is the baby mammoth?
Unlike cheetahs, Smilodon didn’t run because it lacked this body part
What is a long tail?
This is what you are because you encountered a freebie
What is lucky?
Smilodon could open its jaws this wide, twice as far as modern cats.
What is 120 degrees?
Smilodon mostly lived in these environments, great for ambush.
What are brushy plains and woodland margins?
Smilodon had this many toes on its front paws
What is five toes?
Many large mammals disappeared at the end of the Ice Age due to this
What is a climate change?
This famous fossil site in Los Angeles is packed with Smilodon skeletons.
What is the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits?
Smilodon's hunting style
What is cooperative hunting?
Despite its size, Smilodon’s bite was weaker due to this focus
What is precision over brute force?
While Smilodon was iconic, it left behind this many direct descendants.
What is none?