The saber-toothed tiger (Smilodon fatalis) was a cat that went extinct about 12,000 years ago. It got its nickname (and probably the species name fatalis) from its fangs that could grow up to seven inches long. But it was still a cat, a mammal, and started out life suckling milk from its mother. Picture that, and also picture that cub growing its saber teeth. It's not easy being a mom.
Like other cats, S. fatalis first grew baby teeth, which were replaced by a set of adult teeth. A fossil discovery from the La Brea Tar Pits shows us that the super-long fangs erupted while the baby teeth were still in use, long before a cub could hunt prey on its own. The image above shows the baby fangs are not pushed out by the adult teeth, but erupted alongside them, meaning that a saber-tooth tiger cub had four saber teeth for some time.
A separate study of S. fatalis fossils found in Ecuador gives us evidence that these cats had an extended period of maternal care compared with modern big cats. Modern lions stay with their mother for about a year, while the saber-toothed cubs ventured out on their own at about two years. This is based on the time that the last molars erupted, which are important in chewing meat. Before those molars come in, cubs get nutrition from their mother's milk. So when the kids drive you crazy, you can be glad you're not a saber-toothed tiger mother. Read more about this research at Smithsonian.
(Image credit: Jack Tseng)
