California: Smilodon californicus (state fossil)
California: Smilodon californicus (state fossil)
The western portion of North America is a newcomer by geological standards -- it is composed of an accretion of terranes which have been splatted up against the more ancient core of the continent by plate tectonic movements in the time since the dinosaurs met their demise. Thus, California's fossil record is of more recent creatures, and its state fossil, the sabertooth cat Smilodon californicus, hails from the Pleistocene Epoch (also known as the Ice Age), which lasted from 1.6 million to 10,000 years ago.
The most famous and most concentrated deposit of Smilodon and other contemporary mammal remains is at the La Brea Tar Pits. This colonial-period ranch, with natural asphalt seeps, is now a park surrounded by downtown Los Angeles. But for several thousand years during the Pleistocene, the tar pits -- camouflaged by a covering of rainwater -- served as traps for predator and prey alike. It is thought that packs of carnivores would follow a solitary, large animal (such as a mammoth) into the tar and become mired, accounting for the large numbers of carnivore skeletons at the site.
Smilodon was a member of the cat family distinguished by its "saber teeth" or elongate canines. These were used to dispatch prey animals after a successful ambush, as Smilodon was not styled for fast running. Healed wounds on some sabertooths have been suggested as evidence that Smilodon hunted in packs and shared food with injured members until they could hunt again, although this interpretation is controversial.
Because of its abundance and scientific importance, the "saber-tooth cat," a reference to Smilodon, was designated the California state fossil in January of 1974 with the passage of Government Code Section 420-429.5.
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