Editing Smilodon (section)

=== Diet ===
[[File:Smilodon tooth.jpg|thumb|left|''S. populator'' [[canine tooth]]; the tip points to the right]]
An [[apex predator]], ''Smilodon'' primarily hunted large mammals. [[Isotope]]s preserved in the bones of ''S.&nbsp;fatalis'' in the La Brea Tar Pits reveal that [[ruminant]]s like bison (''[[Bison antiquus]]'', which was much larger than the modern [[American bison]]) and camels (''[[Camelops]]'') were most commonly taken by the cats there.<ref name=palaeoecology>{{cite journal|last1=Coltrain |first1=J. B. |last2=Harris |first2=J. M. |last3=Cerling |first3=T. E. |last4=Ehleringer |first4=J. R. |last5=Dearing |first5=M.-D. |last6=Ward |first6=J. |last7=Allen |first7=J. |year=2004 |title=Rancho La Brea stable isotope biogeochemistry and its implications for the palaeoecology of late Pleistocene, coastal southern California |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |volume=205 |issue=3–4 |pages=199–219 |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2003.12.008 |url=http://bioweb.biology.utah.edu/dearing/2011/Publications/Stable_Isotopes/LaBrea_animals.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111024742/http://bioweb.biology.utah.edu/dearing/2011/Publications/Stable_Isotopes/LaBrea_animals.pdf |archive-date=November 11, 2011 |url-status=dead |bibcode=2004PPP...205..199C }}</ref> 
''Smilodon fatalis'' may have also occasionally preyed upon ''[[Glyptotherium]]'', based on a skull from a juvenile ''Glyptotherium texanum'' recovered from Pleistocene deposits in Arizona that bear the distinctive elliptical puncture marks best matching those of ''Smilodon'', indicating that the predator successfully bit into the skull through the glyptodont's armored cephalic shield.{{sfn|Antón|2013|pp=203–204}} In addition, isotopes preserved in the [[tooth enamel]] of ''S.&nbsp;gracilis'' specimens from Florida show that this species fed on the [[peccary]] ''[[Platygonus]]'' and the [[llama]]-like ''[[Hemiauchenia]]''.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Feranec|first=R. S.|year=2005|title=Growth rate and duration of growth in the adult canine of ''S. gracilis'' and inferences on diet through stable isotope analysis|url=https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/03/bulletin-feraneclowres.pdf|journal=Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History|volume=45|issue=4|pages=369–377|doi=10.58782/flmnh.psyo5090 |via=University of Florida}}</ref> Stable carbon isotope measurements of ''S. gracilis'' remains in Florida varied significantly between different sites and show that the species was flexible in its feeding habits.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Feranec |first1=Robert S. |last2=DeSantis |first2=Larisa R. G. |date=Summer 2014 |title=Understanding specifics in generalist diets of carnivorans by analyzing stable carbon isotope values in Pleistocene mammals of Florida |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/abs/understanding-specifics-in-generalist-diets-of-carnivorans-by-analyzing-stable-carbon-isotope-values-in-pleistocene-mammals-of-florida/7BAB33D0127FE87879C677F80F95808C |journal=[[Paleobiology (journal)|Paleobiology]] |language=en |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=477–493 |doi=10.1666/13055 |bibcode=2014Pbio...40..477F |issn=0094-8373 |access-date=21 January 2024 |via=Cambridge Core|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Isotopic studies of [[dire wolf]] (''Aenocyon dirus'') and [[American lion]] (''Panthera atrox'') bones show an overlap with ''S.&nbsp;fatalis'' in prey, which suggests that they were competitors.<ref name=palaeoecology /> More detailed isotope analysis however, indicates that ''Smilodon fatalis'' preferred forest-dwelling prey such as tapirs, deer and forest-dwelling bison as opposed to the dire wolves' preferences for prey inhabiting open areas such as grassland.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Larisa R. G. |last1=DeSantis|first2=Jonathan M. |last2=Crites|first3=Robert S. |last3=Feranec|first4=Kena |last4=Fox-Dobbs|first5=Aisling B. |last5=Farrell|first6=John M. |last6=Harris|first7=Gary T. |last7=Takeuchi|first8=Thure E. |last8=Cerling|year=2019|title=Causes and Consequences of Pleistocene Megafaunal Extinctions as Revealed from Rancho La Brea Mammals|journal=Current Biology|volume=29|issue=15|pages=2488–2495|doi=10.1016/j.cub.2019.06.059 |pmid=31386836|doi-access=free|bibcode=2019CBio...29E2488D }}</ref> The availability of prey in the [[La Brea Tar Pits|Rancho La Brea]] area was likely comparable to modern [[East Africa]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vanvalkenburgh |first1=B. |last2=Hertel |first2=F. |year=1993 |title=Tough Times at La Brea: Tooth Breakage in Large Carnivores of the Late Pleistocene|journal=Science |pmid=17770024 |bibcode=1993Sci...261..456V |doi=10.1126/science.261.5120.456 |volume=261 |issue=5120 |pages=456–459|s2cid=39657617 }}</ref>

[[File:Smilodon stalking Palaeolama.jpg|thumb|Two ''S. populator'' stalking a ''[[Palaeolama|Palaeolama major]]'' group in Brazil, in a landscape also including the gomphothere ''[[Notiomastodon|Notiomastodon platensis]],'' the horse ''[[Equus neogeus]]'' and the ground sloth ''[[Catonyx|Catonyx cuvieri]]'']]
As ''Smilodon'' migrated to South America, its diet changed; bison were absent, the [[Equus (genus)|horses]] and [[proboscidea]]ns were different, and native ungulates such as [[toxodonts]] and [[litopterns]] were completely unfamiliar, yet ''S.&nbsp;populator'' thrived as well there as its relatives in North America.{{Sfn|Antón|2013|pp=65–76}} Isotopic analysis for ''S. populator'' suggests that its main prey species included the camel like litoptern ungulate ''[[Macrauchenia]]'',<ref name="Bocherens-2016">{{Cite journal |last1=Bocherens |first1=Hervé |last2=Cotte |first2=Martin |last3=Bonini |first3=Ricardo |last4=Scian |first4=Daniel |last5=Straccia |first5=Pablo |last6=Soibelzon |first6=Leopoldo |last7=Prevosti |first7=Francisco J. |date=May 2016 |title=Paleobiology of sabretooth cat Smilodon populator in the Pampean Region (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina) around the Last Glacial Maximum: Insights from carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in bone collagen |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0031018216000912 |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |language=en |volume=449 |pages=463–474 |bibcode=2016PPP...449..463B |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.02.017 |hdl=11336/43965|hdl-access=free }}</ref> the rhinoceros-like ungulate ''[[Toxodon platensis]]'', the large armadillo relatives ''[[Pachyarmatherium]]'', ''[[Holmesina]]'', species of the [[glyptodont]] genus ''[[Panochthus]]'', the llama ''[[Palaeolama]]'', the ground sloth ''[[Catonyx]]'', and the equine ''[[Equus neogeus]]'', and the crocodilian ''[[Caiman latirostris]]''. This analysis of its diet also indicates that ''S. populator'' hunted both in open and forested habitats.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Dantas|first1=Mário André Trindade|last2=Cherkinsky|first2=Alexander|last3=Lessa|first3=Carlos Micael Bonfim|last4=Santos|first4=Luciano Vilaboim|last5=Cozzuol|first5=Mario Alberto|last6=Omena|first6=Érica Cavalcante|last7=Silva|first7=Jorge Luiz Lopes|last8=Sial|first8=Alcides Nóbrega|last9=Bocherens|first9=Hervé|date=2020-07-14|title=Isotopic paleoecology (δ13C, δ18O) of a late Pleistocene vertebrate community from the Brazilian Intertropical Region|journal=Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia|language=en|volume=23|issue=2|pages=138–152|doi=10.4072/rbp.2020.2.05|issn=2236-1715|doi-access=free}}</ref> Regressions suggests that a {{cvt|436|kg}} ''S. populator'' is capable of taking on prey up to {{cvt|3|tonnes}}.<ref name="LargeSkull2">{{cite journal |last1=Manzuetti |first1=A. |last2=Perea |first2=D. |last3=Jones |first3=W. |last4=Ubilla |first4=M. |last5=Rinderknecht |first5=A. |date=2020 |title=An extremely large saber-tooth cat skull from Uruguay (late Pleistocene–early Holocene, Dolores Formation): body size and paleobiological implications |url=https://www.academia.edu/73338127 |journal=Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology |volume=44 |issue=2 |pages=332–339 |bibcode=2020Alch...44..332M |doi=10.1080/03115518.2019.1701080 |s2cid=216505747}}</ref>

The differences between the North and South American species may be due to the difference in prey between the two continents.<ref name="Kurten" /> ''Smilodon'' may have avoided eating bone and would have left enough food for scavengers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Van Valkenburgh |first1=B. |last2=Teaford |first2=M. F. |last3=Walker |first3=A. |year=1990 |title=Molar microwear and diet in large carnivores: inferences concerning diet in the sabretooth cat, ''Smilodon fatalis'' |journal=Journal of Zoology |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1990.tb05680.x |volume=222 |issue=2 |pages=319–340 }}</ref> [[Coprolite]]s assigned to ''S. populator'' recovered from Argentina preserve [[osteoderms]] from the ground sloth ''[[Mylodon]]''  and a ''[[Lama (genus)|Lama]]'' scaphoid bone. In addition to this unambiguous evidence of bone consumption, the coprolites suggest that ''Smilodon'' had a more generalist diet than previously thought.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Moreno Rodríguez |first1=Ana P. |last2=Chimento |first2=Nicolás R. |last3=Agnolín |first3=Federico L. |last4=Jofré |first4=Guillermo |last5=Gentil |first5=Adriel |title=A possible ''Smilodon'' (Mammalia, Felidae) Coprolite from the Pleistocene of Argentina |date=2022|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362246133 |journal=PALAIOS |volume=37 |issue=7 |pages=402–410 |doi=10.2110/palo.2021.056 |bibcode=2022Palai..37..402M |s2cid=251078622 |issn=1938-5323}}</ref> Examinations of dental microwear from La Brea further suggests that ''Smilodon'' consumed both flesh and bone.<ref name="DeSantis-2018">{{Cite journal |last1=DeSantis |first1=Larisa R.G. |last2=Shaw |first2=Christopher A. |title=Sabertooth Cats with Toothaches: Impacts of Dental Injuries on Feeding Behavior in Late Pleistocene Smilodon Fatalis (Mammalia, Felidae) from Rancho la Brea (Los Angeles, California) |journal=Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs |date=2018 |url=https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2018AM/webprogram/Paper322567.html |page=322567 |doi=10.1130/abs/2018AM-322567|volume=50|issue=6|url-access=subscription }}</ref> ''Smilodon'' itself may have scavenged dire wolf kills.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Van Valkenburgh |first=B. |year=1991 |title=Iterative evolution of hypercarnivory in canids (Mammalia: Carnivora): evolutionary interactions among sympatric predators |journal=Paleobiology |jstor=2400749 |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=340–362|doi=10.1017/S0094837300010691 |bibcode=1991Pbio...17..340V |s2cid=251052044 }}</ref> It has been suggested that ''Smilodon'' was a pure scavenger that used its canines for display to assert dominance over carcasses, but this theory is not supported today as no modern terrestrial mammals are pure scavengers.{{Sfn|Antón|2013|pp=176–216}}