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Cover image of Smilodon
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Smilodon

The Iconic Sabertooth

edited by Lars Werdelin, H. Gregory McDonald, and Christopher A. Shaw

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The consummate guide to the ultimate sabertooth.

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. This volume...

The consummate guide to the ultimate sabertooth.

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. This volume, 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.

The book
• 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• brings together original, unpublished research with historical accounts of Smilodon's discovery in nineteenth-century Brazil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 will be cited by researchers for decades to come.

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

Reviews

Reviews

Any college-level science collection strong in paleontology must have this in-depth and authoritative survey.

This edited collection brings together the who-is-who of sabertooth palaeontology to provide a thorough and technical overview of the current state of the field... this book is a treasure trove collecting review articles and new research on Smilodon.

Detailed descriptions of specimens are presented in several papers and make the book an essential reference for researchers working on specimen identification for extinct felids... This book does a very good job of summarizing our current understanding of the natural history of an extinct taxon while laying a foundation for additional research.

In Smilodon: The Iconic Sabertooth, Werdelin, McDonald, Shaw, and colleagues provide a comprehensive volume that thoroughly documents both the science of Smilodon as well as the extraordinary details behind its story, successfully tracking down obscure historic collectors and specimens. This far-reaching book fills a gap in the literature.

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!

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About

Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
7
x
10
Pages
224
ISBN
9781421425566
Illustration Description
39 b&w photos, 1 map, 14 graphs, 16 color plates
Table of Contents

Preface
1. Smilodon, by H. G. McDonald
2. The Phylogenetic Context of Smilodon, by Lars Werdelin and Therese Flink
3. Smilodon Fatalis from Talara, Peru, by K.L. Seymour, C.S. Churcher, and Ashley R

Preface
1. Smilodon, by H. G. McDonald
2. The Phylogenetic Context of Smilodon, by Lars Werdelin and Therese Flink
3. Smilodon Fatalis from Talara, Peru, by K.L. Seymour, C.S. Churcher, and Ashley R. Reynolds
4. The Sabertooth Cat, Smilodon Populator (Carnivora: Felidae), from Cueva de Milodón, Chile, by H. G. McDonald and Lars Werdelin
5. Smilodon from South Carolina, by Larry D. Martin, Jim Knight, Todd Wheeler, and John P. Babiarz
6. Understanding Killing Behavior in Smilodon Fatalis, by Stephen Wroe and William C.H. Parr
7. Testing the Canine Shear-Bite Model for Smilodon using an Engineering Experiment, by Todd Wheeler
8. The Evolution of the Skull, Mandible and Teeth of Rancho La Brea Smilodon Fatalis as they Relate to Reeding Adaptations, by Julie A. Meachen and Wendy Binder
9. Analyzing the Tooth Development of Sabertoothed Carnivores, by Robert Feranec and M. Aleksander Wysocki
10. Dietary Ecology of Smilodon, by Larissa DeSantis
11. The Postcranial Morphology of Smilodon, by Margaret Lewis
12. Smilodon Paleopathology, by Sue Ware and Christopher A. Shaw

Author Bios
Featured Contributor

Lars Werdelin Ph.D.

Lars Werdelin is a professor of paleontology at the Swedish Museum of Natural History. He is the coeditor of Cenozoic Mammals of Africa.
Featured Contributor

H. G. McDonald

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.
Featured Contributor

Christopher A. Shaw

Christopher A. Shaw is a research associate and former collections manager at the George C. Page Museum.