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 Anton 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.

Life and times of the big tooth beasts

About the Author

Mauricio Anton has painted paleo murals for the Sabadell Museum in Spain, the Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Madrid, the Florida Museum of Natural History, and the American Museum of Natural History. He has coauthored and illustrated numerous books, including Dogs: Their Fossil Relatives and Evolutionary History; The National Geographic Book of Prehistoric Mammals; Evolving Eden; Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids; and The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives.

Reviews

This book provides a unique review of the many unusual and nearly worldwide occurrences of sabertooths and their relatives over more than 50 million years. Though geared to the general public, it is also useful for professional paleontologists. . . . In sum, a useful survey of the literature and introduction to the overall biology of these dynamic animals.

* Choice *

Mauricio Anton is well known in the paleontological community for his amazing artwork, and his new book Sabertooth certainly doesn't disappoint. . . . This book not only features awe-inspiring paleoart, it is also a scholarly review of the primary literature that can be used as a professional reference. However, this should not dissuade the amateur paleontologist from reading this book, because Anton does a great job of explaining difficult concepts and making this material accessible to a broad audience.

Awards
Commended for Independent Publisher Book Awards (Science) 2014.



Book Information
ISBN 9780253010421
Author Mauricio Anton
Format Hardback
Page Count 268
Imprint Indiana University Press
Publisher Indiana University Press
Weight(grams) 1978g