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The deadliest tooth

5 minutes

Great for killing, and for research: the lethal fangs of saber-toothed cats

Extinct for close to 10,000 years, the saber-toothed cat, Smilodon fatalis, still inspires passionate debate among palaeontologists. Foremost: how did it use its most distinguishing feature? Playfully animated, The Deadliest Tooth spotlights the US palaeontologist Jack Tseng’s research into Smilodon fatalis, including why he believes its formidable fangs were used for attacking rather than scavenging, and the surprising amount of information palaeontologists can now deduce from just a few fossils, including how saber-toothed cubs might have lived millennia ago.

Director: Flora Lichtman, Sharon Shattuck

Website: Sweet Fern Productions

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Aeon is a registered charity committed to the spread of knowledge. Our mission is to create a sanctuary online for serious thinking.
But we can’t do it without you.

Aeon is a registered charity committed to the spread of knowledge and a cosmopolitan worldview.
But we can’t do it without you.

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