Editing Smilodon (section)

== Description ==
[[File:Wiki Smilodon Size.svg|thumb|right|Size of the three ''Smilodon'' species compared to a human]]

=== Skeleton ===
[[File:Smilodon and Homotherium.jpg|thumb|Skeleton and life appearance of ''Smilodon'' (left) compared to that of fellow machairodontine ''[[Homotherium]]'' (right). Illustration by [[Mauricio Anton]]]]
''Smilodon'' was around the size of modern [[big cat]]s, but was more robustly built. It had a reduced [[lumbar region]], high [[scapula]], short tail, and broad limbs with relatively short feet.<ref name="Turner" /><ref name="Berkeley"/> ''Smilodon'' is most famous for its relatively long canine teeth, which are the longest found in the saber-toothed cats, at about {{cvt|28|cm}} long in the largest species, ''S. populator''.<ref name="Turner">{{cite book |last1=Turner |first1=A. |last2=Antón |first2=M. |year=1997 |title=The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives: An Illustrated Guide to Their Evolution and Natural History |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-10229-2 |oclc=34283113 |pages=57–58, 67–68 |url=http://google.com/books?id=lUB9I01-v04C&printsec=frontcover}}</ref> The canines were slender and had fine serrations on the front and back side.<ref name="Slater">{{cite journal |last1=Slater |first1=G. J. |last2=Valkenburgh |first2=B. V. |year=2008 |title=Long in the tooth: evolution of sabertooth cat cranial shape |journal=Paleobiology |issn=0094-8373 |doi=10.1666/07061.1 |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=403–419|bibcode=2008Pbio...34..403S |s2cid=85353590 }}</ref> The skull was robustly proportioned and the [[snout|muzzle]] was short and broad. The [[Zygomatic bone#In other animals|cheek bones]] (zygomata) were deep and widely arched, the [[sagittal crest]] was prominent, and the [[frontal region]] was slightly convex. The mandible had a flange on each side of the front. The upper incisors were large, sharp, and slanted forwards. There was a [[diastema]] (gap) between the incisors and molars of the mandible. The lower incisors were broad, recurved, and placed in a straight line across. The p3 [[premolar]] tooth of the mandible was present in most early specimens, but lost in later specimens; it was only present in 6% of the La Brea sample.<ref name="Status" /> There is some dispute over whether ''Smilodon'' was [[sexually dimorphic]]. Some studies of ''S. fatalis'' fossils have found little difference between the sexes.<ref name="Van Valenburgh">{{cite journal |last1=Van Valkenburgh |first1=B. |last2=Sacco |first2=T. |year=2002 |title=Sexual dimorphism, social behavior and intrasexual competition in large Pleistocene carnivorans |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |jstor=4524203 |doi=10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0164:sdsbai]2.0.co;2 |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=164–169|s2cid=86156959 }}</ref><ref name="Meachen-Samuels">{{cite journal |last1=Meachen-Samuels |first1=J. |last2=Binder |first2=W. |year=2010 |title=Sexual dimorphism and ontogenetic growth in the American lion and sabertoothed cat from Rancho La Brea |journal=Journal of Zoology |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.2009.00659.x |volume=280 |issue=3 |pages=271–279 }}</ref> Conversely, a 2012 study found that, while fossils of ''S. fatalis'' show less variation in size among individuals than modern ''Panthera'', they do appear to show the same difference between the sexes in some traits.<ref name="Christiansen">{{cite journal |last1=Christiansen |first1=Per |last2=Harris |first2=John M. |year=2012 |title=Variation in Craniomandibular Morphology and Sexual Dimorphism in Pantherines and the Sabercat Smilodon fatalis |journal=PLOS ONE |bibcode=2012PLoSO...748352C |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0048352 |pmid=23110232 |pmc=3482211 |volume=7 |issue=10 |pages=e48352|doi-access=free }}</ref>

''S. gracilis'' was the smallest species, estimated at {{cvt|55|to|100|kg}} in weight, about the size of a [[jaguar]]. It was similar to its predecessor ''Megantereon'' of the same size, but its dentition and skull were more advanced, approaching ''S. fatalis''.<ref name="Body size of Smilodon" />{{Sfn|Antón|2013|pp=108–154}} ''S. fatalis'' was intermediate in size between ''S. gracilis'' and ''S. populator''.<ref name="Turner" /> It weighed between {{cvt|160|and|280|kg}},<ref name="Body size of Smilodon">{{cite journal |last1=Christiansen |first1=Per |last2=Harris |first2=John M. |year=2005 |title=Body size of ''Smilodon'' (Mammalia: Felidae) |journal=Journal of Morphology |doi=10.1002/jmor.10384 |pmid=16235255 |volume=266 |issue=3 |pages=369–84|s2cid=27233870 }}</ref> and reached a shoulder height of {{cvt|100|cm}} and body length of {{cvt|175|cm}}.<ref name="San Diego">{{cite web |date=January 2009 |title=Saber-Toothed Cat, ''Smilodon fatalis'' |publisher=San Diego Zoo Global |url=http://library.sandiegozoo.org/factsheets/_extinct/smilodon/smilodon.htm#physical |access-date=2013-05-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203065411/http://library.sandiegozoo.org/factsheets/_extinct/smilodon/smilodon.htm#physical |archive-date=2013-02-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was similar to a lion in dimensions, but was more robust and muscular, and therefore had a larger body mass. Its skull was also similar to that of ''Megantereon'', though more massive and with larger canines.{{Sfn|Antón|2013|pp=108–154}} ''S. populator'' was among the [[List of largest mammals#Carnivorans (Carnivora)|largest known felids]], with a shoulder height of {{cvt|120|cm}} and a typical body mass range from {{cvt|220|kg}} to over {{cvt|400|kg}},<ref name="Turner" /><ref name="Body size of Smilodon" /> and one estimate suggesting up to {{cvt|470|kg}}.<ref name="Sorkin">{{cite journal |last=Sorkin |first=B. |year=2008 |title=A biomechanical constraint on body mass in terrestrial mammalian predators |journal=[[Lethaia]] |volume=41 |issue=4 |pages=333–347 |doi=10.1111/j.1502-3931.2007.00091.x|bibcode=2008Letha..41..333S }}</ref> A particularly large ''S. populator'' skull from Uruguay measuring {{cvt|39.2|cm}} in length indicates this individual may have weighed as much as {{cvt|436|kg}}.<ref name="LargeSkull">{{cite journal |last1=Manzuetti |first1=A. |last2=Perea |first2=D. |last3=Jones |first3=W. |last4=Ubilla |first4=M. |last5=Rinderknecht |first5=A. |title=An extremely large saber-tooth cat skull from Uruguay (late Pleistocene–early Holocene, Dolores Formation): body size and paleobiological implications |journal=Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology |date=2020 |volume=44 |issue=2 |pages=332–339 |doi=10.1080/03115518.2019.1701080|bibcode=2020Alch...44..332M |s2cid=216505747 |url=https://www.academia.edu/73338127}}</ref> In contrast, the smallest known histologically adult specimen of ''S. populator'' (MCC-868V) weighed {{cvt|157|-|171|kg}}, possibly due to [[selective pressure]] or alternatively due to the specimen representing a new species or subspecies.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Maciel, Virgínia S.|author2=Aureliano, T.|author3=de Aguilar Santos, Claude L.|author4=Ghilardi, Aline M.|year=2025|title=Bone histology of Smilodon populator and Puma concolor from the Pleistocene of equatorial Brazil with comments on fossil diagenesis|journal=Quaternary International|volume=727|at=109741|doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109741}}</ref> Compared to ''S.&nbsp;fatalis'', ''S.&nbsp;populator'' was more robust and had a more elongated and narrow skull with a straighter upper profile, higher positioned [[nasal bone]]s, a more vertical [[occiput]], more massive [[metapodial]]s and slightly longer forelimbs relative to hindlimbs.{{Sfn|Antón|2013|pp=108–154}}<ref name=Kurten>{{cite journal |last1=Kurtén |first1=B. |last2=Werdelin |first2=L. |year=1990 |title=Relationships between North and South American ''Smilodon'' |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |doi=10.1080/02724634.1990.10011804 |jstor=4523312 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=158–169|bibcode=1990JVPal..10..158K }}</ref> Large [[fossil tracks]] from Argentina (for which the [[ichnotaxon]] name ''Smilodonichium'' has been proposed) have been attributed to ''S. populator'', and measure {{cvt|17.6|cm}} by {{cvt|19.2|cm}}.<ref>{{cite news |date=May 26, 2016 |title=Hallazgo inédito en Miramar: huellas fosilizadas de un gran tigre dientes de sable |work=0223.com.ar |publisher=0223 |language=es |url=http://www.0223.com.ar/nota/2016-5-26-hallazgo-inedito-en-miramar-huellas-fosilizadas-de-un-gran-tigre-dientes-de-sable |access-date=28 May 2016}}</ref> This is larger than tracks of the [[Bengal tiger]], to which the footprints have been compared.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Perkins |first=Sid |date=June 10, 2016 |title=First fossil footprints of saber-toothed cats are bigger than Bengal tiger paws |journal=Science |doi=10.1126/science.aag0602 |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/first-fossil-footprints-saber-toothed-cats-are-bigger-bengal-tiger-paws|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===External features===
{{multiple image |align = right |direction = horizontal |total_width = 400
|image1 = Smilodon Knight.jpg
|alt1 =
|image2 = Smilodon fatalis.jpg 
|alt2 =
|footer = ''S. populator'' [[paleoart|restored]] with plain [[Coat (animal)|coat]] by [[Charles R. Knight]] in 1903 (left), and ''S. fatalis'' restored with spotted coat (right), both of which are considered possibilities
}}
''Smilodon'' and other saber-toothed cats have been reconstructed with both plain-colored [[Coat (animal)|coats]] and with spotted patterns (which appears to be the ancestral condition for [[feliforms]]), both of which are considered possible.{{Sfn|Antón|2013|pp=157–176}} Studies of modern cat species have found that species that live in the open tend to have uniform coats while those that live in more vegetated habitats have more markings, with some exceptions.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Allen |first1=W. L. |last2=Cuthill |first2=I. C. |last3=Scott-Samuel |first3=N. E. |last4=Baddeley |first4=R. |year=2010 |title=Why the leopard got its spots: relating pattern development to ecology in felids |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B |doi=10.1098/rspb.2010.1734 |pmid=20961899 |pmc=3061134 |volume=278 |issue=1710 |pages=1373–1380}}</ref> Some coat features, such as the manes of male lions or the stripes of the tiger, are too unusual to predict from fossils.{{Sfn|Antón|2013|pp=157–176}}

Traditionally, saber-toothed cats have been [[paleoart|artistically restored]] with external features similar to those of extant felids, by artists such as [[Charles R. Knight]] in collaboration with various paleontologists in the early 20th century.{{Sfn|Antón|2013|pp=157–176}} In 1969, paleontologist G.&nbsp;J. Miller instead proposed that ''Smilodon'' would have looked very different from a typical cat and similar to a [[bulldog]], with a lower lip line (to allow its mouth to open wide without tearing the facial tissues), a more retracted nose and lower-placed ears.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Miller |first=G. J. |year=1969 |title=A new hypothesis to explain the method of food ingestion used by ''Smilodon californicus'' Bovard |journal=Tebiwa |volume=12 |pages=9–19}}</ref> Paleoartist [[Mauricio Antón]] and coauthors disputed this in 1998 and maintained that the facial features of ''Smilodon'' were overall not very different from those of other cats. Antón noted that modern large felids have folded, elastic lips which help them open their mouths without tearing tissue and this could have existed in ''Smilodon''.<ref name="Anton">{{cite journal |last1=Antón |first1=M. |last2=García-Perea |first2=R. |last3=Turner |first3=A. |year=1998 |title=Reconstructed facial appearance of the sabretoothed felid ''Smilodon'' |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.1998.tb00582.x |volume=124 |issue=4 |pages=369–386|doi-access= }}</ref> Antón stated that [[extant phylogenetic bracketing]] (where the features of the closest extant relatives of a fossil taxon are used as reference) is the most reliable way of restoring the life-appearance of prehistoric animals, and the cat-like ''Smilodon'' restorations by Knight are therefore still accurate.{{Sfn|Antón|2013|pp=157–176}} A 2022 study by Antón and colleagues concluded that the upper canines of ''Smilodon'' would have been visible when the mouth was closed, while those of ''Homotherium'' would have not, after examining fossils and extant big cats.<ref name="Concealed">{{cite journal |last1=Antón |first1=Mauricio |last2=Siliceo |first2=Gema |last3=Pastor |first3=Juan F. |last4=Salesa |first4=Manuel J. |title=Concealed weapons: A revised reconstruction of the facial anatomy and life appearance of the sabre-toothed cat ''Homotherium latidens'' (Felidae, Machairodontinae) |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |date=2022 |volume=284 |pages=107471 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107471|bibcode=2022QSRv..28407471A |s2cid=248168629 |doi-access=free |hdl=10261/270770 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>