Smilodon, the saber-toothed tiger, is an extinct genus that lived in the Americas up to 2.5 million years ago, during the Pleistocene epoch. It was named in 1842 and identified by fossils from Brazil. The largest collection of its fossils has come from the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California. The species S. gracilis and S. fatalis lived mostly in North America. A third species, the South American S. populator (meaning destroyer), was perhaps the largest known member of the family of cats, at 220 to 400 kg (490 to 880 lb) and 120 cm (47 in) in height. Overall, saber-toothed tigers were stronger than any modern cat, with well-developed forelimbs, big jaws, and long, slender upper canines, adapted for precision killing. In North America, they hunted large herbivores such as bison and camels, pinning their prey before biting it. They probably lived in habitats that provided cover for ambushing prey, such as forests and shrubland. They died out at the same time that most North and South American megafauna disappeared, during a period of climate change about 10,000 years ago.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smilodon
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1749:
The first issue of Berlingske, Denmark's oldest continually operating newspaper, was published. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlingske
1777:
American Revolutionary War: American forces under General George Washington defeated British troops at the Battle of Princeton. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Princeton
1911:
A gun battle in the East End of London left two dead and sparked a political row over the involvement of then-Home Secretary Winston Churchill (pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Sidney_Street
1911:
A 7.7 Mw earthquake destroyed the city of Almaty in Russian Turkestan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1911_Kebin_earthquake
2002:
Israeli forces seized the MV Karine A, which was carrying 50 tons of weapons being smuggled in on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karine_A_Affair
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
narcokleptocracy: 1. (rare) Drug lords and others involved in organized crime as a dominant group in society; the influence or rule exerted by this group. 2. (rare) A government influenced by such persons; a narcocracy. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/narcokleptocracy
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
True law is right reason in agreement with nature; it is of universal application, unchanging and everlasting; it summons to duty by its commands, and averts from wrongdoing by its prohibitions. --Cicero https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cicero