Skip to Main Content
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance logo
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Library logo

Extinct Saber-toothed Cat (Smilodon fatalis) Fact Sheet: Bibliography & Resources

Extinct Saber-toothed Cat (Smilodon fatalis)

Bibliography

Anderson, E. Who's who in the Pleistocene: a mammalian bestiary. In P. Martin and R. Klein (eds) Quaternary Extinctions. University of Tucson Press. pp. 59-60.

Anyonge, W. Microwear on canines and killing behavior in large carnivores: saber function in Smilodon fatalis. Journal of Mammology 77(4): 1959-1067

Barnett, R., I. Barnes, M. Phillips, L. Martin, C. Harrington, J. Leonard, A. Cooper, 2005. Evolution of the extinct sabretooths and the American cheetahlike cat. Current Biology 15(15):R589-R590

Berta, A. 1985. The status of Smilodon in North and South America. Contributions in Science, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County 370: 1-15.

Brown B. 1908.The Conard Fissure, a pleistocene bone deposit in norhtern Arkansas: with descriptions of two new genera and twenty new species of mammals. Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History. 9(4): Feb 1908.

Carbone, C., T. Maddox, P. Funston, M. Mills, G. Grether, B. Van Valkenburgh 2008. Parallels between playbacks and Pleistocene tar seeps suggest sociality in an extinct sabretooth cat, Smilodon. Biological Letters, published on-line (doi:10.1098/rsbl.2008.0526)

Christiansen, P. 2007. Comparative bite forces and canine bending strength in feline and sabretooth felids: implications for predatory ecology. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Vol. 151(2): 423-437.

Christiansen. P. and J. Harris, 2005. Body size of Smilodon (Mammalia: Felidae). Journal of Morphology 266:(3)369-384

Duckler, G. Parietal depressions in skulls of the extinct saber-toothed felid Smilodon fatalis: evidence of mechanical strain. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 17(3):600-609

Feranec. R. 2002. The growth rate and period of the adult canine in Smilodon gracilis, and inferences on diet using stable isotope. Geological Society of America abstracts, session #120, Annual meeting Denver, CO

Guilday, JE. 1977. Saber-tooth cat, Smilodon floridanus (Leidy) and associated fauna from a Tennessee cave (40Dv 40), the first American Bank site. Tennessee Academy of Science, Journal. 52: 84-94.

Hunt, R., 1996. Biogeography of the Order Carnivora. J. Gittleman, (ed). In Carnivore behavior, ecology, and evolution. Vol. 2. pp. 485- 541.

Janczewski, D., J. Yuhki, D. Gilbert, G. Jefferson, S. O'Brien, 1992. Molecular phylogenetic inference from saber-toothed cat fossils of Rancho La Brea. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 89:9769-9773

Kitts, DB. 1958. A saber-toothed cat, Smilodon californicus Bovard, from Logan County, Oklahoma. Oklahoma Geological Notes, Oklahoma Geological Survey. 18(2): 19-23.

McCall, S. V. Naples, L. Martin 2003. Assessing behavior in extinct animals: was Smilodon social? Brain, Behavior and Evolution 61:159-164.

McHenry, C. S. Wroe, P. Clausen, K. Moreno, E. Cunningham 2007. supermodeled sabercat, predatory behavior in Smilodon fatalis revealed by high-resolution 3D computer simulation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(41):16010-16015.

McKenna, M. and S. Bell, 1997. Classification of mammals above the species level. Columbia University Press, New York. pp. 230-235

Meachen-Samuels, J. and W. Binder. Sexual dimorphism and ontogenetic growth in the American lion and sabertoothed cat from Rancho La Brea. Journal of Zoology280(3):271-279.

Merriman, J. and C. Stock, 1932. The Felidae of Rancho La Brea. Carnegie Institute of Washington. Publication 4: 1-231.

Oesch RD. 1969. Fossil Felidae and Machairodontidae from two Missouri caves. Journal of Mammalogy. 50: 367-368.

Parmalee, PW, Munson PJ, Guilday JE. 1978. The Pleistocene mammalian fauna of Harrodsburg Crevice, Monroe County, Indiana. NSS Bulletin. 40: 64-75.

Shaw, C. 2001. The sabertoothed cats, In J. Harris (ed), Rancho La Brea: death trap and treasure trove. Terra 38(2)26-27

Shaw, C. and S. Cox, 2006. The large carnivorans: wolves, bears, and big cats. In Jefferson, G. and L. Lindsay (eds), Fossil treasures of the Anza-Borrego Desert: the last seven million years. pp. 187-188.

Turner, A., 1997. The big cats and their fossil relatives. Columbia University Press, New York. pp. 57-58

Van Valkenburgh, B. and F. Hertel, 1993. Tough times at La Brea: tooth breakage in large carnivores of the Late Pleistocene. Science, New Series, 261(5120) 456-459.

Van Valkenburgh, B. and T. Sacco, 2002. Sexual dimorphism, social behavior and intrasexual competition in large Pleistocene carnivorans. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22(1):164-169

Van Valkenburgh, B., M. Teaford, A. Walker, 1990. Molar microwear and diet in large carnivores: inferences concerning diet in the sabretooth cat, Smilodon fatalis. Journal of Zoology, London 222: 319-340

Wozencraft, W.C., 2005. Order Carnivora. In: Wilson, D. and D. Reeder (eds) Mammal species of the world. pp. 532-548.

Wilson, D.E. and D.M. Reeder (eds) 2005. Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution Press. 3rd edition.

Youngsteadt JO. 1980. A saber toothed cat Smilodon floridanus from Hurrican River Cave northwest Arkansas, USA. NSS Bulletin 42(1): 8-14.


Additional Internet Resources

SDZWA Library Links