Few animals spark the imagination as much as the sabertooth cat Smilodon. With their incredibly long canines, which hung like fangs past their jaws, these ferocious predators were first encountered by humans when our species entered the Americas. We can only imagine what ice age humans felt when they were confronted by a wild cat larger than a Siberian tiger.
Because Smilodon skeletons are perennial favorites with museum visitors, researchers have devoted themselves to learning as much as possible about the lives of these massive cats. Smilodon: The Iconic Sabertooth, edited by celebrated academics, brings together a team of experts to provide a comprehensive and contemporary view of all that is known about Smilodon. The result is a detailed scientific work that will be invaluable to paleontologists, mammalogists, and serious amateur sabertooth devotees.
Smilodon: The Iconic Sabertooth
- covers all major aspects of the animal's natural history, evolution, phylogenetic relationships, anatomy, biomechanics, and ecology
- traces all three Smilodon species across both North and South America
- brings together original, unpublished research with historical accounts of Smilodon's discovery in nineteenth-century Brazil
The definitive reference on these iconic Pleistocene mammals, Smilodon: The Iconic Sabertooth will be cited by researchers for decades to come.
Lars Werdelin is a professor of paleontology at the Swedish Museum of Natural History. He is the coeditor of Cenozoic Mammals of Africa. H. Gregory McDonald is a regional paleontologist for the Bureau of Land Management, Utah State Office. He is the coauthor of The White River Badlands: Geology and Paleontology. Christopher A. Shaw is a research associate and former collections manager at the George C. Page Museum.
Contributors:
- John P. Babiarz
- Wendy J. Binder
- Charles S. Churcher
- Larisa R. G. DeSantis
- Robert S. Feranec
- Therese Flink
- James L. Knight
- Margaret E. Lewis
- Larry D. Martin
- H. Gregory McDonald
- Julie A. Meachen
- William C. H. Parr
- Ashley R. Reynolds
- Kevin L. Seymour
- Christopher A. Shaw
- C. S. Ware
- Lars Werdelin
- H. Todd Wheeler
- Stephen Wroe
- M. Aleksander Wysocki
"Smilodon is a comprehensive treasure trove of new studies and revelations about this enigmatic cat. Werdelin, McDonald, and Shaw provide fertile ground for the emergence of new research and insights into a unique predator that is now extinct!"
– Russell W. Graham, The Pennsylvania State University
"Smilodon, a cultural and scientific icon, deserves special treatment. This book delivers, bringing readers an impressive assembly of modern sabertooth expertise. With lovely classical paintings and many new insights, Smilodon is a requisite for sabertooth armchair aficionados and cognoscenti alike."
– Xiaoming Wang, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
"Smilodon is a definitive and comprehensive primer on the greatest and latest of the sabertooth cats. This comprehensive volume delves into the breadth and scope of research on this legendary animal, covering its biology from hunting behavior to the growth of its famous canine teeth, patterns of skeletal injury, and evolution."
– Blaire Van Valkenburgh, University of California, Los Angeles
"Smilodon packs the most comprehensive collection of facts about the quintessential sabertoothed cat available between two covers, reviewing evolution, adaptations, and the history of discovery and study. It is an unmissable addition to the library of paleontologists, evolutionary biologists, and anyone fascinated by the most spectacular carnivorans ever to walk the planet."
– Mauricio Anton, paleoartist, author of Sabertooth
"An excellent compilation of what we know about Smilodon, one of the most fascinating sabre-toothed felids. Over the course of this volume, we discover when the first fossils of this predator were found and their geographical distribution, how Smilodon killed its prey, and which pathologies affected its skeleton. The book provides us with a very complete portrait of this iconic predator."
– Manuel J. Salesa, El Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales