. Bulletin. Science; Natural history; Natural history. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. Fig. 2. Arrow points to alveolar bone scar which has completely fused after long-standing loss of right saber. Maxilla has undergone significant atrophic degeneration as a result of the loss of the tooth. LACMHC 2001-192. 3:2. It was this deeply anchored root which contributed to the powerful use of this canine as a true saber, a slashing as well as a puncturing weapon. The saber, described best by Merriam and Stock (1932), is most unlike the canine found in other living carnivores. Rather than bein
. Bulletin. Science; Natural history; Natural history. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. Fig. 2. Arrow points to alveolar bone scar which has completely fused after long-standing loss of right saber. Maxilla has undergone significant atrophic degeneration as a result of the loss of the tooth. LACMHC 2001-192. 3:2. It was this deeply anchored root which contributed to the powerful use of this canine as a true saber, a slashing as well as a puncturing weapon. The saber, described best by Merriam and Stock (1932), is most unlike the canine found in other living carnivores. Rather than being conical in shape, the tooth is approx- imately plano-convex with the more convex surface facing laterally. Some 13 cm in overall length, the recurved tooth tapers to a blunt point. The enamel on this canine is a millimeter or so thick; it amounts to little more than a thin slip of enamel covering the crown. Inasmuch as enamel is 96-98% inorganic salts while dentin is significantly softer, reduced amounts of enamel weakens a tooth under stress. Adding to the structural weakness of the tooth is a large pulp chamber seen in immature forms, in some cases amounting to 50% of the diameter of the tooth at a point where the crown meets the root. Thus, the Smilodon canine is long, largely composed of softer dentine, may possess a capacious pulp chamber and is relatively thin. On architectural grounds alone the tooth was vulnerable to torque and lateral stress. Were the saber employed only in soft tissue, it is likely that the tooth would sustain little trauma. The evidence, however, suggests that Smilodon thrust its canine into both hard and soft tissue of conspecifics and likely. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Southern California Academy of Sciences. Los Angeles, Calif. : The Academy
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