Saber-Toothed Cat

The saber-toothed cat is California's official state fossil, designated by the state legislature in 1974. Smilodon fatalis was a large predatory mammal that lived across North and South America during the Pleistocene epoch. It is named for its pair of elongated upper canine teeth, which could reach 7 inches in length.

California has the richest concentration of Smilodon fossils on Earth. The La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles have yielded more than 2,000 individual Smilodon specimens since excavations began in the early 1900s, making it the single best-studied population of any extinct large carnivore.

Smilodon fatalis was about the size of an African lion, reaching up to 5.5 feet in length and weighing between 350 and 600 pounds. It was more heavily built than modern big cats, with powerful forequarters and shorter rear legs. Its most distinctive feature was its pair of serrated upper canines, which it used to deliver a killing bite to the throat or belly of large prey.

The saber-toothed cat was an ambush predator, hunting large Ice Age animals such as bison, horses, camels, and ground sloths. Fossils show healed injuries from fighting and bone disease, suggesting these animals lived in social groups that supported injured members. Smilodon fatalis went extinct around 10,000 years ago at the end of the last Ice Age, along with most of the large mammals it hunted.

California designated the saber-toothed cat as its state fossil in 1974, eleven years before most other states created similar designations. The choice reflected California's deep paleontological heritage and the worldwide fame of the La Brea Tar Pits, which had been producing spectacular Smilodon specimens since commercial excavations began in 1913.

The designation was supported by the scientific community at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, which oversees the tar pit collection. By 1974, researchers had already documented hundreds of complete and partial Smilodon skeletons, giving California one of the strongest cases of any state for its chosen fossil.

The La Brea Tar Pits in the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles is the most productive Smilodon site in the world. The tar pits are natural asphalt seeps that trapped animals over tens of thousands of years. Excavations have recovered more than 2,000 Smilodon individuals, ranging from cubs to large adults, along with their prey and scavengers.

Smilodon fatalis fossils have also been found at other California sites, including McKittrick Tar Pits in Kern County and Carpinteria Tar Pits in Santa Barbara County. These sites are smaller than La Brea but confirm that the saber-toothed cat ranged across coastal and central California during the Pleistocene.