When was the Smilodon discovered?
Smilodon
An apex predator, Smilodon primarily hunted large mammals. Isotopes preserved in the bones of S.fatalis in the La Brea Tar Pits reveal that ruminants like bison (Bison antiquus, which was much larger than the modern American bison) and camels (Camelops) were most commonly taken by the cats there.[38] In addition, isotopes preserved in the tooth enamel of S.gracilis specimens from Florida show that this species fed on the peccary Platygonus and the llama-like Hemiauchenia.[39] In rare cases, Smilodon may have also targeted glyptodonts, based on a Glyptotherium skull that bears elliptical puncture marks[40] consistent with the size and diameter of its canine teeth.[41] This was a juvenile glyptodont with an incompletely developed cephalic shield (head armor).[40] Isotopic studies of dire wolf (Canis dirus) and American lion (Panthera leo atrox) bones show an overlap with S.fatalis in prey, which suggests that they were competitors.[38] The availability of prey in the Rancho La Brea area was likely comparable to modern East Africa.[42] As Smilodon migrated to South America, its diet changed; bison were absent, the horses and proboscideans were different, and native ungulates such as toxodonts and litopterns were completely unfamiliar, yet S.populator thrived as well there as its relatives in North America.[13] The differences between the North and South American species may be due to the difference in prey between the two continents.[8] Smilodon probably avoided eating bone and would have left enough food for scavengers.[43] Smilodon itself may have scavenged dire wolf kills.[44] It has been suggested that Smilodon was a pure scavenger that used its canines for display to assert dominance over carcasses, but this theory is not supported today as no modern terrestrial mammals are pure scavengers.[45]