Ancient DNA offers new view on saber-toothed cats' past

Date:  October 19, 2017

Source:  Cell Press

Summary:

Researchers who've analyzed the complete mitochondrial genomes from ancient samples representing two species of saber-toothed cats have a new take on the animals' history over the last 50,000 years. The data suggest that the saber-toothed cats shared a common ancestor with all living cat-like species about 20 million years ago. The two saber-toothed cat species under study diverged from each other about 18 million years ago.

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Saber-Toothed Cat Remains Found Near Las Vegas

For over a decade, paleontologists gambled on finding fossils in the hills north of Las Vegas, Nev. Now they're reporting that their work has yielded a big payoff — the bones of a saber-toothed cat.

"I hate to say we hit the jackpot, this being Vegas — but we did!" Eric Scott, curator of paleontology at the San Bernardino County Museum in California, told the Highland News. "Meat-eaters are generally uncommon in the fossil record. This makes fossil remains of extinct carnivores very rare and special — and very tough to find."

Saber-toothed cats (aptly named Smilodon fatalis) were lion-size ambush predators, best known for their long canine teeth; the cats went extinct at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch some 11,000 years ago. The fossils discovered by the San Bernardino County Museum team are estimated to be more than 15,000 years old.

Continued:  http://www.livescience.com/25603-las-vegas-saber-toothed-cat.html