The Saber-Tooth Tiger Grew Deadly Kitten Teeth Super Fast

First Posted: Jul 02, 2015 07:37 AM EDT
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Scientists may have discovered how saber-toothed tigers first developed their massive teeth. The researchers have used isotopic analysis and x-ray imaging to find the specific ages for developmental events in Smildon fatalis-notably in their teeth.

"For predators such as big cats, an important determinant of an individual's full hunting ability is the time required to grow their weapons-their teeth," said Z. Jack Tseng, one of the researchers, in a news release. "This is especially crucial for understanding sabertoothed predators such as Smilodon."

The sabertoothed cat lived in North and South America until it became extinct about 10,000 years ago. It was about the size of a modern tiger or lion, but was built more solidly. It was famous for its protruding canines, which could grow to be about seven inches in length. Although well-preserved fossils of this species exist, very little is known about the absolute ages at which the animals reached key developmental stages.

"Timing of development is crucial for many aspects of vertebrate ecology and evolution," said Robert Feranec, corresponding author on the new paper. "Changes in the timing of life-history events can have major effects on an organism's adult features and final appearance. For extinct species, we can usually only determine the relative sequence of developmental events. This technique will permit the determination of absolute developmental age not only for Smilodon, but other extinct species."

The researchers found that the cat's permanent upper canines grew at a staggering 6 millimeters per month. By using this eruption rate, the scientists calculated the timing of various growth events in months.

It turns out that this mammal had two sets of teeth in its lifetime; the first stopped erupting when the cub was about one and a half years old. Toward the end of the eruption of the baby teeth, the permanent teeth started to erupt with about an 11-month period where both sets of teeth could be seen inside of a cub's mouth. Interestingly, the jaw muscles in cubs were anatomically ready to be used in hunting early on with their baby teeth.

The findings reveal a bit more about these massive cats. Not only that, but the technique could be used to learn a bit more about extinct species.

The findings are published in the journal PLOS One.

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