Naples is reconstructing the appearance of Xenosmilus, the proposed name for a previously unknown genus of saber-tooth. Xenosmilus is believed to be more than 1 million years old. In 1983, fossil collectors unearthed two partial skeletons of the unique saber tooth from a North Central Florida sinkhole. But only recently did Naples and Larry Martin, a University of Kansas researcher and worldwide authority on saber-toothed cats, begin to study the find. It helps to bring them to life in the eyes of people interested in paleontology if we can figure out what they really looked like and how they lived.
Scientists say it is unusual to find a large, previously unknown animal from the Pleistocene period.
Other saber tooths lived in Florida during this time, but they are similar to species found elsewhere. Paleontologists previously identified just two kinds of saber-toothed cats. Smilodon roamed the Rancho La Brea tar seeps in California. This cat boasted elongated, serrated canines and a short-legged, muscular body resembling that of a bear. Because of its heavy build, Smilodon wasn't very fast and probably waited in ambush of its prey.