Smilodon

* S. fatalis
* S. populator

## *Smilodon fatalis*

★★★★☆

Feral

## Diet

 Meat

> *"Meet Smilodon! Also referred to as the ‘saber-tooth tiger,’ the Smilodon was more robust than modern big cats, featuring its famous pair of elongated canines."*
>
>

*Smilodon*, more commonly known as "Saber-Toothed Tiger" or "Saber-Toothed Cat" is a large felid that was native throughout the Americas during both the Pleistocene and Holocene. *Smilodon* is famous for its large fangs and muscular build.

Three species of Smilodon exist, *S. gracilis*, *S. fatalis*. and *S. populator*, with *S. fatalis* and S. *populator* being featured in Prehistoric Kingdom.

## *Smilodon populator*

★★★★☆

* Pampas
* Dauntless

## Creation

### Breeding Cost

$55,000

> *"Meet Smilodon! Also referred to as the ‘saber-tooth tiger,’ the Smilodon was more robust than modern big cats, featuring its famous pair of elongated canines."*
>
>

*Smilodon*, more commonly known as "Saber-Toothed Tiger" or "Saber-Toothed Cat" is a large felid that was native throughout the Americas during both the Pleistocene and Holocene. *Smilodon* is famous for its large fangs and muscular build.

Three species of Smilodon exist, *S. gracilis*, *S. fatalis*. and *S. populator*, with *S. fatalis* and S. *populator* being featured in Prehistoric Kingdom.

## In-Game

### Description

An incredibly famous animal, Smilodon is possibly the most popular prehistoric mammal of all time, only rivaled by the monumental Woolly Mammoth in terms of fame.

Comparing the two species featured in Prehistoric Kingdom, *Smilodon populator* is larger than *Smilodon fatalis* while also having a smoother skull, thicker neck, and overall bulkier proportions to accommodate its sturdy build. *Smilodon fatalis* also has comparatively smaller fangs than its Southern cousin.

*S. populator* has two skins in game, with one being smattered with small spots on a beige coat, and the other being darker brown on its dorsal side and white to beige underneath, both befitting *S. populator*'s more open environmental preferences. *S. fatalis* however bears a striking smear of spots to assist in camouflaging in the more wooded environments that this species of Smilodon prefers.

### In-Game Trivia

"*Oh, boy… that's a big kitty. More commonly known as the Saber-Tooth Tiger, Smilodon makes for a formidable predator.*"

"*Many of its fossils have been excavated in tar pits, with the most prolific site being La Brea in Los Angeles, California. More than a staggering 166,000 specimens of Smilodon have been found in these sediments alone. What may have been terrible death traps in the past make for great opportunities in the present, as we bring this carnivore back to life.*"

"*This large feline could gape its mouth to impressive extents: up to 120 degrees, almost twice as much as a lion! I would love to see it in action - from a safe distance!*"

"*Despite the looks, Smilodon isn't closely related to any modern cats. It's more accurately called a machairodont. Although, I wouldn't worry too much about making the distinction, just try to keep those saber teeth away from the guests.*"

### Paleontology

Smilodon is neither a true feline (Felinae) nor a panther (Pantherinae) such as Panthera, but it is rather part of a third, entirely extinct branch of Felidae called the Machairodontinae. With a powerful and stocky build, S. fatalis and S. populator were capable predators that were quite literally armed to the teeth. Its iconic fangs, which grew to be up to 28 centimeters (11 inches) long, paired nicely with its robust and muscular physique, allowing Smilodon to easily become the apex predator of South America and hunt prey substantially larger than itself, such as the ground sloth Megatherium, by wrestling their prey to the ground with their massive forelimbs and delivering a precise finishing bite to bring a swift end to the hunt. Smilodon is one of the largest felids known, with the largest members of *S. populator* possibly reaching over 400 kg in weight.

While it is often stated that *S. populator* outcompeted the Phorusrhacid Terror Birds after making its way to South America, this is actually not true. Large South American Terror birds had already largely gone extinct by the time *S. populator* evolved. In fact the latest living known large terror bird *Titanis* only ever coexisted with the much smaller *Smilodon gracilis* in North America*,* with *S. gracilis* only later evolving into the two larger *Smilodon* species seen in Prehistoric Kingdom after *Titanis* and other predators went extinct due to climate shifts. This left the apex predator niche open for these saber-cats to exploit to great effect, with Smilodon reigning over the Americas all the way up to just 10,000 years ago.

Smilodon was named in 1842 by Peter Wilhelm Lund and its name means "knife tooth". The original material was at first thought to belong to a Hyena by Lund, but as more pieces of the animal became known to him he recognized it as belonging to a felid. He considered naming the animal Hyaenodon due to his original identification of the animal, but the name was taken by the current Creodontan holder of the name, so Lund instead named his animal *Smilodon populator; "*The Knife Toothed Destroyer".

*Smilodon fatalis* was found independently and assigned by Joseph Leidy in 1869 to the genus Felis as *'Felis fatalis'* as it was customary at the time for many cats both living and dead to be lumped into the genus. It was later in an 1880 article on American extinct cats that Edward Drinker Cope of bone wars fame pointed out the near identical nature of '*Felis fatalis'* and *Smilodon populator* and proposed a combination of the two into the current *Smilodon fatalis;* "The Fatal Knife Tooth"*.*

## Gallery

* Photos
* Renders
* Animations
* Concept Art
* Videos

Smilodon fatalis yawning.Smilodon in a grassland enclosure during sunset.Smilodon populator resting in its enclosure.Smilodon populator in a rocky enclosure.Smilodon fatalis in a shaded enclosure.Smilodon fatalis in a field.Multiple Smilodon fatalis around a Modular Structure.A closer view of Smilodon fatalis on a Modular Structure.Smilodon populator in a grassy field.

Website Render.Close-up render of Smilodon fatalis' facial detail.Render of Smilodon populator stretching.Render of Smilodon fatalis' Feral skin.Render of Smilodon populator's Pampas skin.Render of Smilodon populator's Dauntless skin.Render of Smilodon populator's Pampas skin from Cindy's ArtStation.Close-up Render of Smilodon populator's Pampas skin from Cindy's ArtStation.Render of Smilodon populator's Dauntless skin from Cindy's ArtStation.Render of Smilodon fatalis' Feral skin from Cindy's ArtStation.All Smilodon skins.Render comparing old Smilodon model to current.Smilodon Species Profile.

Smilodon Walking Animation.Smilodon Running Animation.

Concept art for Smilodon's current skins.Old concept art for Smilodon's scrapped skins.

Smilodon Sequence[1]

## Trivia

* *S. fatalis* skin 'Feral' is based loosely off of Clouded Leopards, due to some similarity in overall habitat/foliage and niche, giving it better adapted camouflage.
* One of the most famous prehistoric animals of all time, Smilodon has been featured in dozens of pieces of media, including the animated *Ice Age* franchise, the *Walking with Beasts* mini-series, as well as *Prehistoric Park*, a piece of media that has inspired parts of Prehistoric Kingdom, and a cameo in *Primeval*, appearing in a few episodes.