Saber-Toothed Cat Called 'Homotherium' May Have Roamed Submerged Continental Shelf Between Texas and Florida At Least 12,000 Years Ago [Study]

Saber-toothed cats are prehistoric carnivores that lived mostly in the open grasslands and on the plains of North America and Europe, as well as in Asia, Africa, and South America. The ancient predators first appeared during the Oligocene epoch starting approximately 34 million years ago. However, these terrestrial megafauna with large canine teeth went extinct at the end of the last ice age.

Unlike big cats of today such as lions and tigers, the primeval sabertooth had a small tail but with a heavy and muscular build. Despite their resemblance, sabertooth cats (also called sabertooth tigers) are not closely related to modern tigers and other wild cats that we see today, according to experts. Scientists earlier this year revealed that a sabertooth cat once roamed the Texas Gulf Coast.

Saber-Toothed Cats in Texas

A study in April 2024 discovered that a saber-toothed cat called "Homotherium" may have roamed a submerged continental shelf between Texas and Florida at least 12,000 years ago. Researchers theorize that the extinct cats once lived in an ancient region in what is now replaced by the Texas Gulf Coast. The findings further confirm previous evidence of the sabertooth's presence in North America.

Fossils of a saber-toothed cat belonging to an extinct genus called Homotherium was discovered in the Gulf Coast of Texas, according to a study published in the journal The Anatomical Record on April 23. Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin and other institutions across the United States unearthed the sabertooth fossil on McFaddin Beach, Texas, located along the Gulf of Mexico.

Excavations led to the discovery of the skeletal remains of the Pleistocene vertebrates which were accumulating on McFaddin Beach. The research team observed the fossils may have originated from submerged deposits on the submerged shelf in the region. In the past, the area was exposed during the Late Pleistocene during glacial intervals, according to a recent research paper.

The discovered specimen was exposed to marine erosion and transport. However, high-resolution X-ray computed tomography was still able to examine the damaged sabertooth fossil. Although there are various factors behind the extinction of sabertooth tigers, the study sheds light on the habitats that the predatory animals once thrived in.

Why Did Sabertooths Went Extinct?

Saber-toothed cats, also called Smilodon, belong to a genus of felids under the extinct subfamily Machairodontinae. Although often compared to tigers of today and other modern cats, scientists conclude that the prehistoric sabertooths had no descendants. This means that sabertooth cats are not closely related to felines of today, which consist of 37 species, including the domestic cat.

The exact cause of sabertooth extinction remains contested, dubbed by many as a "million-dollar question." Yet, evidence suggests that climate change and anthropogenic factors, such as competition with humans over food resources, contributed to the extinction of Smilodon thousands of years ago.