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Saber-toothed tigers have a pair of sharp tusks like machetes, and how they hunt with such long teeth is a topic of interest to many people!
First of all, it should be noted that the saber-toothed tiger is actually our collective name for all prehistoric cats with super long canine teeth, if specific to the species, it is generally called the blade-toothed tiger (smilodon).
The blade-toothed tiger is the most famous saber-toothed tiger. Image from the web
The blade-toothed tiger is the "last saber-toothed tiger" that lived 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago and spread throughout the American continent. The earliest humans who entered the Americas once encountered the blade-toothed tiger, and encountered the largest blade-toothed tiger in South America, the destruction-toothed tiger, and the male blade-toothed tiger weighed up to 400 kilograms, which was much larger than today's lions and tigers.
In the movie "10,000 Years Before History", humans meet saber-toothed tigers. Image from the web
The three types of blade-toothed tigers are compared to the size of humans, and the green one is the destruction-toothed tiger. Image from the web
The tiger is marked by the tusks in its mouth, which can reach a length of up to 28 centimeters and resemble a machete, known as "dirk-tooth". With such long teeth, the lips can't be wrapped, and it seems that the blade-toothed tiger has opened its mouth to the maximum, and its teeth are still close to the chin, how can it give the prey a fatal blow?
A pair of extra-long teeth in the mouth of a razor-toothed tiger. Image from the web
The bladed tiger is of course able to attack its prey with its tusks, and the key lies in the joints of its skull and mandible, which allow the bladed tiger's mouth to open up to 120 degrees, and the tusks can accurately penetrate the body of the prey. Today's cats have a mouth half as wide open as the bladed tiger, so it is difficult for us to imagine how the bladed tiger hunted with its tusks.
The mouth is open 120 degrees to the bladed tiger skull. Image from the web
In addition to the joints of the skull and mandible, the saber-toothed tigers represented by the blade-toothed tiger have changed their entire bodies in order to be able to cooperate with the tusks. Compared with today's cats, the forelimbs and upper body of the blade-toothed tiger are stronger and more muscular, and they will rely on the strength of the upper body to push the prey to the ground, and then stab the neck of the prey with their tusks, so as to quickly and accurately subdue the prey!
Blade-toothed tiger with stout shoulders and forelimbs. Image from the web
Stout bladed tiger with higher shoulders. Image from the web
The success of the saber-toothed tiger family comes from the tusks in its mouth and the strong upper body like a wrestler that has evolved for this purpose, and they are the killers of large animals!
Image from the web
Author: Jiang Hong (Excellent answerer on paleontological topics)
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