Description

This is a composite Saber Cat Tooth Fossil it is two sections (The first piece is from La Brea and the other is from Gilchrist Co.) of Cat K9 root that were 3 1/2’each making up 7″ of this 9″ tooth. The tooth is all Saber cat tooth except for two inches of the tip it is filler. The reconstruction was done by Dr. Gomer and a great job. the tip section didnt not line up well so we removed it and filled it. Very heave solid bone very little filler great specimen.
Saber-toothed cats were powerfully built ambush predators that were only distantly related to true cats. Smilodon fatalis is the California state fossil and remains of more than 2,000 individuals have been recovered from Rancho La Brea. These cats used their 8-inch long canines to help sever the blood vessels of their prey. Isotopic evidence suggests the saber-toothed cats from Rancho La Brea fed mainly on bison and camels. Baby Smilodon fatalis are born with their deciduous canines. At some point their permanent canine begins to erupt. Once it is the same length as the deciduous one, they lose that canine and the permanent one continues to grow. The rate of growth of these teeth is still not fully understood. At Rancho La Brea we have recovered these canines from many different stages of growth.