Once and future cats

August 20, 2018 10:00 AM

Sabercats were magnificent, powerful predators – what does their extinction tell us about the future of life on Earth?

Brian Switek and others, previously, on the topic of writing popular science books.

And, just for fun, here's zoologist Darren Naish's attempt to answer a question that has plagued humanity for centuries: Could We Domesticate (Non-Bird) Dinosaurs?

posted by brundlefly (26 comments total)

"The cookie-cutter cat, represented by the appropriately named ‘alien knife’ Xenosmilus"

Fantastic names.
posted by readinghippo at 10:11 AM on August 20, 2018 [2 favorites]

Once they give up on even trying to defend themselves, it's only a matter of time.
posted by thelonius at 10:28 AM on August 20, 2018 [5 favorites]

From about 25 million years ago to about 18.5 million years ago, there's a gap in the North American fossil record where very few cat or cat-like species are found. Here's the wikipedia page on the cat gap.

The first paragraph of that wikipedia article contains a list of hypotheses for why the cat gap happened; every so often I edit that list to include "asshole landlords" as one of the reasons there weren't any cats in North America for 6.5 million years.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 10:35 AM on August 20, 2018 [31 favorites]

Could We Domesticate (Non-Bird) Dinosaurs?

*Jeff Goldbluming intensifies*
posted by zombieflanders at 10:35 AM on August 20, 2018 [14 favorites]

Sabercats? That's the first time I've heard "sabertooth tiger" truncated as such -- sounds like a minor league sports team.

Anyway, fun science fact: vaguely recent study (circa 2009) indicated that Smilodons had a weak bite, and those vicious-looking fangs were more likely used as the final fatal blow to already weakened prey.

In terms of skull power, the [modern] lion outclassed Smilodon in almost every way. The ‘king of beasts’ happily chomped down with a force of over 3000N (or 300kg), but a 229kg Smilodon only managed a measly 1000N. It’s jaws were remarkably under-powered for a cat of its large size and bulk, biting with the same amount of force as a jaguar about a third of its size. But the powerful neck muscles were factored in, Smilodon‘s bite force increased to a more respectable 2000N – clearly, this was a predator that bit from the neck.

But even with its restored reputation, McHenry’s analysis also found that Smilodon couldn’t have bitten prey on the run. Lions will frequently latch onto running buffalo, and its skull is built to handle the massive forces that would push and twist against it. Even with 2000N (200kg) of force pushing sideways on a lion’s canines, the teeth experience minimal stress. Not so with Smilodon – subjected to the same forces, it’s entire skull experienced tremendous stress and strain. If it tackled large prey that were still on their feet, it would have run a strong risk of snapping its teeth or skull.

The sabre-toothed cat’s relatively wussy bite rules out a lot of the theories for its killing style. It couldn’t possibly have tackled running prey and slashing at the belly would have left it vulnerable to snapping teeth if the prey tried to get back up. Smilodon‘s only real option was to use its teeth to deliver a killing bite when there was no chance of the prey actually moving. It was a one-use weapon, reserved for prey that had been brought down and pinned, preferably at the head, by the cat’s enormous bulk.

Fortunately, the rest of the animal was superbly adapted for this. Smilodon had a physique that was more bear than cat and it had over-sized ‘dew claws’ on its ‘thumbs’. All of these traits would have given it enough power and inertia to bring down large animals in a way that modern lions simply can’t do. Lions often kill with a lengthy suffocating bite that can last for up to 13 minutes. In Smilodon‘s case, the fate of the downed animal would have been sealed in seconds, especially if the sabre teeth severed the carotid artery.

posted by filthy light thief at 11:03 AM on August 20, 2018 [7 favorites]

Since I too would tend to search for 'sabre-tooth' lets add that to the tags.
posted by infini at 11:24 AM on August 20, 2018 [1 favorite]

Sabercats? That's the first time I've heard "sabertooth tiger" truncated as such -- sounds like a minor league sports team.

It's a pro Rugby team in Houston apparently!
posted by brundlefly at 11:27 AM on August 20, 2018

Sabercats? That's the first time I've heard "sabertooth tiger" truncated as such -- sounds like a minor league sports team.

Lionel: Sabercats, ho!
posted by jb at 11:29 AM on August 20, 2018 [6 favorites]

My 3 year old daughter came to me crying one day about the scary "tiger walrus" that she saw in a book. I looked through all the books in the living room until it finally dawned on me that she was talking about a picture of a sabertooth tiger from The Magic Treehouse series.
posted by benzenedream at 11:43 AM on August 20, 2018 [19 favorites]

Tiger Walrus is now head canon, thank you
posted by Celsius1414 at 11:48 AM on August 20, 2018 [11 favorites]

The cat gap only means no cats died in North America for 6.5 million years. Clearly they became immortal until they got bored of it. I think there was a Sean Connery movie about it?
posted by BeeDo at 12:27 PM on August 20, 2018 [14 favorites]

memo to self: next time you’re vandalising wikipedia, also add “zardoz scenario” to proposed explanations of cat gap.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 12:49 PM on August 20, 2018 [6 favorites]

I would have sworn Sabercats was an 80s toy commercial cartoon show. Like a single-season Thundercats ripoff.

But then I'm also humming to myself my alternate universe Ted Nugent's big hit Cat Gap Fever. So maybe where I come from, it was a cartoon.
posted by Naberius at 1:06 PM on August 20, 2018 [6 favorites]

You might be thinking of Saber Rider and the Star Sherrifs?
posted by Calzephyr at 1:26 PM on August 20, 2018 [1 favorite]

that cat gap page is a serious rabbit (cat) hole...
posted by supermedusa at 1:49 PM on August 20, 2018 [3 favorites]

Now you’re going to tell me that sabermetrics is the obsessive analysis of Smilodon bite force.
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:52 PM on August 20, 2018 [5 favorites]

Happily, sabre-tooth cats are not extinct.
posted by acrasis at 2:38 PM on August 20, 2018 [4 favorites]

filthy light thief: "Anyway, fun science fact: vaguely recent study (circa 2009) indicated that Smilodons had a weak bite, and those vicious-looking fangs were more likely used as the final fatal blow to already weakened prey. "

The first article phrased it this way:

Whereas Smilodon was once seen as a rapacious nightmare capable of bisecting sloths and disembowelling mastodons, paleontologists now consider it to have been a careful, strategic hunter that not only discriminated among possible prey, but specifically targeted the most vulnerable parts of potential victims. Biomechanical estimates have found that Smilodon had a relatively weak bite, so probably didn’t use the single-bite killing style of modern cats. Instead, the sabercat relied on powerful neck musculature to help drive its teeth into a victim and then pull to shear away flesh from the neck or belly, severing blood vessels and causing dramatic trauma. The goal was to cut critical lifelines and slice through muscle so that the shocked prey could be quickly brought down.

posted by Mitheral at 2:43 PM on August 20, 2018

Naberius, it's ThunderCats.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThunderCats
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 3:14 PM on August 20, 2018

I thought Sabercat was a Decepticon.
posted by Fizz at 3:32 PM on August 20, 2018 [3 favorites]

Smilodon only managed a measly 1000N
As someone who recently got bit by a tiny sabrecat with a super measly bite force of 75N, I can verify that 1000N is PLENTY of force...
posted by ikahime at 4:17 PM on August 20, 2018 [2 favorites]

*Jeff Goldbluming intensifies*
posted by zombieflanders at 1:35 PM on August 20 [13 favorites +] [!]

It was called Thor: Ragnorok.
posted by Scattercat at 8:44 PM on August 20, 2018 [2 favorites]

I think there was a Sean Connery movie about it?

You're thinking of Sean Cattery.

Roger Mewer?

Timothy Dogton?

Daniel Tiger Craig?

posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:30 PM on August 20, 2018 [2 favorites]

Hiss-topher Lambert?


Adrian Paw?
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:33 PM on August 20, 2018 [1 favorite]

They don’t look terribly different from big cats living today, or even Bob, the museum’s tailless calico who prowls among the ongoing fossil excavations.

This article from Smithsonian has a picture of Bob the cat, and she is delightful.
posted by Katemonkey at 3:38 AM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

I think I've commented here before about my old primatology instructor and his cat Soupy. She showed up at a dig one day, and was adopted by the crew. She got her name because they would joke that if they ran out of food, well...
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:58 AM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]