Description

This superb reconstruction is made to order and can be done in full body.

Made from synthetic hair. Sculpted from an exact replica of the skull of S. populator to achieve maximum anatomical correctness.

It is similar in size to a large lion, although they are not closely related. Smilodon populator inhabited South America in the time range from 2.5 million years ago to just 10,000 years ago. It would be a specialized ambush predator and certain findings suggest that it may have hunted in groups. It would use its strong legs to limit the mobility of the prey and its long canines to direct them against vital soft parts, such as the neck of its prey.

References consulted: Antón, M., García-Perea, R. and Turner, A. 1998. Reconstructed facial appearance of the sabretoothed felid Smilodon. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 124(4), 369-386. Chimento, N. R. et al. 2019. Evidence of intraspecific agonistic interactions in Smilodon population (Carnivora, Felidae). Comptes Rendus Palevol, 18(4), 449-454. Fariña, R. A. et al. 2013. Megafauna: giant beasts of pleistocene South America. Indiana University Press. Gervais, H. and F. Ameghino. 1880. Fossil mammals of South America. Hervé Bocherens, Martín Cottea, Ricardo Boninic, Daniel Scian ,Pablo Straccia, Leopoldo Soibelzón, Francisco J. Prevosti. Paleobiology of sabretooth cat Smilodon populator in the Pampean Region (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina) ) around the Last Glacial Maximum: Insights from carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in bone collagen