CALIFORNIA CAT

The image below is a photo of the exhibit panel. Following it is a transcript of the panel.

Photo of the panel from the exhibit.

Smilodon , a saber-toothed cat, is California's official state fossil.

In some carnivorous mammals, one pair of teeth on each side of the jaw is modified for slicing meat. Since slicing is restricted to just two pairs of teeth, other teeth can evolve for other functions -- such as the slashing sabers of Smilodon .

carnivorans: meat-eating mammals, including extinct Smilodon and other cats; dogs; and bears

New features:

  • two pairs of shearing teeth (modified from the first upper molar and last lower premolar) for slicing flesh
  • retractile claws are pulled back into furry sheaths by elastic ligaments (some later running carnivorans lost much or all of this ability)

When? 50 million years ago to present

Trapped in Tar
Smilodon individuals found in the Rancho La Brea tar pits are thought to represent many episodes of herbivore entrapment : a plant-eater, stuck in the tar, attracted hungy saber-tooth cats that became mired along with their prey.

PICTURE CAPTIONS:

  • Diagram showing common ancestry and evolution of cats, dogs, and bears from organisms with shearing teeth and retactile claws. Evolution of dogs and bears is where unique shoulder blade branches off.