Eye on Science, Science Blog, Michael D. Lemonick, TIME

October 1, 2007 5:00

Flash: Saber-Toothed Tiger Was Really Dangerous

Posted by Michael Lemonick | Comments (55) | Permalink | Trackbacks (0) | Email This

When I was a kid, toy dinosaur sets usually came with a little toy saber-toothed tiger, formally known as Smilodon. It wasn't because the toymakers were Creationists who thought every animal that ever lived was on the Earth at one time, but rather because the saber-tooth had the same appeal as the dinosaurs did: it was exotic-looking, really scary and safely extinct (although, unlike the dinosaurs, it did prowl the Earth when our human ancestors were around, finally going extinct only about 10,000 years ago.

Actually, the saber-tooth wasn't a tiger at all, which is why paleontologists call them saber-toothed cats instead (or some variation). Now Australian researchers have made a new discovery about the nightmarish-looking beasts, being reported today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. What interests me, though, isn't the discovery itself so much as the way they're trying to sell it to the media. The headline on the press release reads: "Scientists say sabercat bit like a pussycat."

If you're like me, you probably assume this means they're saying the cats weren't all that dangerous after all. If so, we're both wrong. You don't have to read very far into to the release before you realize that all they're talking about is the bite. According to a computer-based analytical technique borrowed from engineering, called finite element analysis, the saber-tooth's bite was only a third as powerful as a modern lion's. "It bit," one of the scientists says in the press release, "like a moggy."

Leaving aside the fact that I never heard the term "moggy" before this minute, the release goes on to admit that the saber-tooth cat could still rip you into small pieces in seconds. It would just bite you less hard than a lion while doing so (probably more like a pit bull—what a relief!).

It actually is interesting science, if you're following what they call the "150-year-old debate" about how hard a saber-tooth could bite. And it shows how a technique invented to study the structural strength of manufactured items can be borrowed by biologists.

But that headline may be just a tiny bit too sensational, don't you think?

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Reader Comments (55)

Barton Paul Levenson:

I think mog, moggy or moggie is a British term for a pet cat. At least I first encountered it in a British children's book about a pet cat.

--Yes. If you'd clicked on the link, you would have seen that I figured that out.
M.L.

Posted by Barton Paul Levenson | October 2, 2007 6:29 AM

Saint Andeol:

i think people look at those giant teeth and assume they'd be a primary weapon of some sorts. it seems like they'd be useful for holding your squirming body in one place while they quickly maul you to death with their oft-overlooked claws. or maybe for slashing veins to bleed out prey to weaken it.

at least, that's what i would do with giant fangs.

--I'm sure everyone has an idea of what he or she would do with giant fangs. Best use gets a gold star.
M.L.

Posted by Saint Andeol | October 2, 2007 10:26 AM

Ben Bonsens:

Well, I guess I want to weigh in on this in the hopes of a gold star.

What would I do with an ineffective lever for a jaw and two oversized teeth perpendicular to it? Hmmmmm, I think I would use them to open tuna fish cans (Calvin and Hobbes).

Posted by Ben Bonsens | October 2, 2007 2:44 PM

Saint Andeol:

i didn't realize gold stars were involved. i want to change my answer. hmmmmmmm . . .

i'd try to invent a new standard of length measurement based on my monster fangs. i'd call the unit a "man-fang". hopefully it would become the hep new measurement.

example:

Person 1: "I caught a fish that was at least 5 man-fangs long!"

Person 2: "Yeah right, you couldn't handle a 1-fang fish, wuss!"

Person 1: "Shut up, Grandpa."

Posted by Saint Andeol | October 2, 2007 5:07 PM

Barton Paul Levenson:

Has anyone suggested that the saberteeth were a purely allometric effect, from the great size of the animal? Like the hind pair of legs on Scutagera or the antlers of the Irish Elk? It's probably not the case, but I'd be interested if anyone has suggested it in the literature.

--The animal wasn't of particularly great size, so I doubt it.
M.L.

Posted by Barton Paul Levenson | October 3, 2007 7:48 AM

Arnice Cottom:

Some people need to just know when to leave saber tooth tigers alone. people always messin wit 'em and then they say they're dangerous if they jack somebody arm or leg up. LEAVE THEM ALONE!!!!!!!

Posted by Arnice Cottom | October 3, 2007 1:18 PM

MTran:

Yeah, that headline was misleading.

It could have read: Smilodon No Bully, Picked on Prey Larger than Itself.

Or: Saber Tooth, Fastest Cut Throat in the West

But no, for some reason people want to bring the creature down a notch or two. Isn't it enough that the species is extinct? Does it also need to have its predator qualities belittled?

Posted by MTran | October 3, 2007 7:50 PM

Taciana Lima:

I am a brazilian writer. I post this im my own language. If somenone translate will be good!

Title: God and Dawkins
O mundo mudou, e a literatura também. Hoje qualquer um se torna best seller, mesmo escrevendo compilações renomeadas de escritores famosos na história, sobre dramas humanos das guerras atuais, e alguns poucos sobre a religião, a fé, e sobre a não existência de Deus, como é o caso do escritor Richard Dawkins!
Li ligeiramente algumas frases sobre o escritor e sobre sua escrita e algumas páginas sobre o que ele disserta sobre os conceitos de fé e de Deus.
Acho que por sempre ter lido muito, vi-me ao ler seus escritos, diante dos meus 15 anos, quando recebi de presente, o best seller da época: “Eram os deuses astronautas”, versão similar do Richard Dawkins, nos dias de hoje.
A pobreza do mundo literário me enerva e principalmente em nossos dias, e leva quase todos os leitores e a mídia, a “bestselar” sem analisar.
Normalmente costumo analisar quando leio, revisando todos os contextos, pois sempre amei a hermenêutica, matéria em que me debrucei e galguei elevadas premiações do Professor David Smith, Doutor na matéria nos EUA: texto fora de contexto, vira pretexto!
Motivo de sérias reflexões, inclusive hermenêuticas e teológicas, o livro citado decorre a ausência de Deus. Longe de ser considerado tese, seus escritos afirmam “não existir um Deus, e que após lerem o seu livro, seus leitores transmutar-se-ão em completos ateus”.
Uma escrita inócua e sem fundamentos do meu ponto de vista literário, já que se pode escrever sobre o que não existe, mas nunca se escreve para tentar convencer alguém sobre algo que nunca existiu. Esta é a minha observação literária e do ponto de vista de tese, mesmo jamais tendo defendido nenhum doutorado. Toda tese deve constar uma boa hipótese e uma excelente síntese!
Se não existe Deus, não se pode convencer do contrário, pois este não existe! Seria como eu escrever aos homens no mundo inteiro, convencendo-os de que Papai Noel não existe. Ora, Papai Noel nunca existiu daí, não pode haver a tese de sua existência nem escritos de controversas.
É neste fundamento que ouso afirmar ao autor e a todos os que pasmaram deslumbrados diante de uma literatura tão comum e tão infundada.
Talvez, ele, (já no mundo literário os americanos sempre refletiram extrema pobreza) desejasse se tornar mais conhecido, ficar rico, sei lá mais o que desejou, ao escrever este livro.
Mas, certamente, soa como uma grande contradição: Se nunca existiu um Deus, se a fé não existe, se tudo é delírio, por que após tantos anos de estudos, de tanta pesquisa, tanto doutorado, escrever para tentar convencer leitores do que nunca existiu?
Se nunca houve Deus, não pode existir tese de convencimento, quer seja de Sua existência ou de Seu não existir.
Isto é para mim, uma questão lógica, embasada em toda a filosofia humana e Erasminiana.
“Penso, logo existo”, é a lógica Socratiniana!
Refutar o que não existe meu caro Dawkins, após tantos anos de pesquisa e dedicação, após tanto doutorado e tantos cursos e aulas em Oxford, é a maior prova da existência de Deus e da importância da Fé salvadora.
Do contrário, o nobre escritor afundaria também o pé na escrita, para convencer o mundo que Papai Noel existe!
De repente, eis outro grande Best Seller para um americano escrever.
Taciana Lima, Recife, 07 de outubro de 2007.

Posted by Taciana Lima | October 7, 2007 7:57 AM

Barton Paul Levenson:

Taciana -- muito obrigado, but I don't think anyone on this blog knows Portuguese well enough to translate your message.

Posted by Barton Paul Levenson | October 8, 2007 7:56 AM

Brad:

I've taken about four years of Spanish, but Portuguese isn't Spanish (or visa versa). I don't have time to look at it right now, but I'll see what I can do later this evening.

Posted by Brad | October 8, 2007 9:16 AM

Ben Bonsens:

I love Google, it can do some cool things if you know what to ask:

"The world moved, and literature also. Today any one becomes best to seller, exactly writing renomeadas compilations of famous writers in history, on human dramas of the current wars, and some few on the religion, the faith, and on not the existence of God, as it is the case of the writer Richard Dawkins!
I slightly read some phrases on the writer and its writing and some pages on what it disserta on the concepts of faith and God.
I ahead find that for always having very read, I saw it reading its writings, of mine 15 years, when I received from gift, best to seller of the time: “Astronauts Were deuses”, similar version of the Richard Dawkins, nowadays.
The poverty of the literary world me enerva and mainly in our days, and takes almost all the readers and the media, “to bestselar” without analyzing.
Normally costumo to analyze when I read, revising all the contexts, therefore always I loved the hermeneutics, substance where I leaned over and galguei high awardings of the Professor David Smith, Doctor in the substance in U.S.A.: text is of context, turns excuse!
Reason of serious reflections, hermeneutic and also theological, the cited book elapses the absence of God. Far from being considered thesis, its writings affirm “not to exist a God, and that after to read its book, its readers will be transmutarão in complete atheists”.
A writing inócua and without beddings of my literary point of view, since if it can write on what it does not exist, but never is written to try to convince somebody on that never it existed. This is my literary comment and of the point of view of thesis, exactly never having defended no doutorado. All thesis must consist a good hypothesis and an excellent synthesis!
If God does not exist, not if he can convince the the opposite, therefore this does not exist! He would be as I to write to the men in the entire world, convincing them of that Santa Claus does not exist. However, Santa Claus never existed from there, not can have the written thesis of its existence nor of controversas.
He is in this bedding that I dare to affirm the author and to all the ones that had astonishhed fascinated ahead of a so common and so baseless literature.
There perhaps, it, (literary world the Americans always had no longer reflected extreme poverty) desired if to become more known, to be rich, knows more what he desired, when writing this book.
But, certainly, he sounds as a great contradiction: If never existed a God, if the faith does not exist, if everything is delirium, why after as many years of studies, of as much research, in such a way doutorado, to write to try to convince readers of what never it existed?
If never it had God, it cannot exist persuation thesis, it wants either of Its existence or Its not to exist.
That is for me, a logical question, based in all the philosophy human being and Erasminiana.
“I think, then I exist”, is the Socratinian logic!
To refute what my expensive Dawkins does not exist, after as many years of research and devotion, after in such a way doutorado and as many courses and lessons in Oxford, is the biggest test of the existence of God and the importance of the saving Faith.
Of the the opposite, the noble writer would also sink the foot in the writing, to convince the world that Santa Claus exists!
Suddenly, here it is another great Best Seller an American to write." - Taciana Lima

O que é que isto tem a ver com o Sabre Tooth Tigres? Pela maneira, o que poderia fazer com os Smilodon dentes? Obrigada.

Posted by Ben Bonsens | October 8, 2007 6:07 PM

cantrell moseid:

yo im cantrell moseid i live in redmond,washington. im ganna use dis paper fo my science reaction paper. :] thanks G

Posted by cantrell moseid | October 10, 2007 8:33 PM

Ben Bonsens:

Illiterate and immoral is a hard way to go through life. And it still has nothing to do with Smilodons or gold stars. Wow, look at me and my crabby reactions.

M.L. what do you think of the Nobel Prize recipients?

-You mean all of them?
M.L.

Posted by Ben Bonsens | October 12, 2007 1:18 PM

Ben Bonsens:

Besides the controversial Peace Prize, which has ramifications for the Climatologist community, I was thinking more of the Chemistry and Physics Prizes.

Surface Chemistry is very important and Ertl's work is very good. But I know many PhDs in the States that have forwarded this field more like Somorjai. So why wasn't the prize shared? It seems the committee thought to award it to this individual chemistry field, why not acknowledge other peoples work?

And with Physics, I will agree that hard disk technology is very applicable to modern life. But what about the Nanotube? When is Iijima going to be recognized for a severe leap for mankind?

--I don't know much about the chemistry prize. As for physics, I don't think nanotubes have actually done much yet.
M.L.

Posted by Ben Bonsens | October 12, 2007 6:59 PM

robbyrob:

out of all of the pre-historic animals this is my favorite!!

http://www.spymac.com/details/2277945

Posted by robbyrob | October 16, 2007 9:36 PM

Mina:

I actually wrote a little entry on this myself (http://weirdscience.ca/2007/10/01/a-gentle-cat/) - although not in the same eloquent tone, given my intended younger audience. ;) Frankly, both lions AND sabre-tooth tigers scare the -censored- out of me.

Sidenote: I often say I'm as 'cold as a frozen moggy,' which is an expression I heard growing up. It was a favorite one that my British mother liked to mutter. I believe it refers to a shivering stray cat. :p

--Nice entry.
M.L.

Posted by Mina | October 30, 2007 7:27 PM

Barton Paul Levenson:

I love all the little kitties everywhere in the whole big wide world!!!

Posted by Barton Paul Levenson | October 31, 2007 11:09 AM

Yadgyu:

What is going on here?

Posted by Yadgyu | November 27, 2007 6:49 PM

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