Sabertooth
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In this visual and intellectual treat of a book, Mauricio Antón tells their story in words and pictures, all scrupulously based on the latest scientific research.
With their spectacularly enlarged canines, sabertooth cats are among the most popular of prehistoric animals, yet it is surprising how little information about them is available for the curious layperson. What's more, there were other sabertooths that were not cats, animals with exotic names like nimravids, barbourofelids, and thylacosmilids. Some were no taller than a domestic cat, others were larger than a lion, and some were as weird as their names suggest. Sabertooths continue to pose questions even for specialists. What did they look like? How did they use their spectacular canine teeth? And why did they finally go extinct? In this visual and intellectual treat of a book, Mauricio Antón tells their story in words and pictures, all scrupulously based on the latest scientific research. The book is a glorious wedding of science and art that celebrates the remarkable diversity of the life of the not-so-distant past.
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This could be regarded as a follow-up to Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives, which Antón co-wrote with the late Alan Turner. In many respects, the approach is similar, although updated with the very latest information. Here, however, the topic is not restricted to cats, sabretooth or otherwise.
Instead, all sabretooths are fair game: there is coverage here of the barbourofelids and nimravids, of the sabretoothed marsupials, and even the reptile-like gorgonopsians. All of the information is detailed and a fascinating read, from one of the top researchers in the field.
On top of that, lots of the gorgeous artwork for which Antón is so well known, much of it in full colour. One can really see sabretooths as living, breathing animals, as majestic as any living cat.
