HABITS OF SABER-TOOTH 
mastoid neck muscles, serving to draw the head down, are so 
excessive in size as to make a noticeable fullness beneath the 
neck, and were evidently far more powerful than are those of 
any cat, indicating that this animal could strike its head down- 
ward with enormous force. Again, while the cat’s lower jaw 
has a wide gape, and can swing back on its hinges to an angle 
of over go degrees, a smilodon could open its mouth at least 30 
degrees more, thus giving room for full play by the long tusks. 
With the head thrown back, the lower jaw lying back almost 
upon the throat, it was able to strike its daggers deep into its vic- 
tim, and then, pulling backward, rip a deadly gash in the flesh. 
“Tt is fair to infer that the saber-tooth preyed upon creatures 
much larger than himself, for his means and methods of attack 
would be ineffective and unnecessary in the case of a small ani- 
mal. Moreover, his heavy build and short wide feet show that 
he was not agile or swift-footed, and the smaller animals had prob- 
ably little to fear from him. On the contrary, he was the chief or 
only enemy of the big pachyderms of his time, lying in wait 
for them, perhaps at their watering places, springing upon their 
backs, and gashing and bleeding them to death before they 
were able to shake him off and gore or trample upon him. 
“An animal of such habits might fulfill the legendary requirements of 
the ‘King of Beasts’ more nearly than does the lion. It would be bold and 
fearless of the most powerful, and it might well be thought to Heraldic 
exercise a ‘magnanimous’ forbearance toward the small and inea. 
weak ones, since they were neither feared by it nor were its natural prey. 
It is curious to note several of the characters of the heraldic lion in the saber- 
tooth, — for instance, the vast mouth, long head, huge forequarters, and 
widely spreading claws. Surely one might fancy the designer of these 
horrifying creatures must have had some inspiration from an instinctive 
recollection of the smilodon as it appeared to our prehistoric ancestors.” 
By the time this saber-toothed race had disappeared there had 
risen into prominence, corresponding with the rise of the long- 
necked, thin-skinned horses, cattle, antelopes, and the like, 
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