The firstIce Agemovie hit theaters in 2002 — and with it came the cinematic debut of “ Scrat , " an accident - prostrate sabre - toothed squirrel with an insatiable lust for acorns ( as of this written material , the manic critter ’s Facebook pageboy has sack up more than 12,000 “ likes ” ) . Although Scrat is a fictitious animal , these classifiable canines were wear by a huge raiment of prehistorical creatures from cats and marsupials to deer and even Salmon River . Here are eight of the most unusual .
1.Gorgonops: A Whiskered Predator
Wikimedia Commons
Named for the gorgon of Greek mythology , Gorgonopsstalked the champaign of South Africa some 250 million years ago — long before the first dinosaur came along .
Intriguingly , however , this killer and its relative ( “ gorgonopsians ” ) were much more closely - akin to us , even frisk hairsbreadth and ( according to some ) musical scale - less skin . In recent age , gorgonopsians have gained packaging as frequent antagonists on thetime - go BBC seriesPrimeval .
2.Machaeroides: The First Saber-Toothed Mammal
As far as true mammals are concerned , Machaeroides is the earliest make out . Stout and powerfully built , this terrier - sized carnivore lived approximately 40 million years ago in mod - day Wyoming .
3.Uintatherium: A Bizarre Herbivore
Saber teeth proved to be outstandingly versatile throughout the course of evolution . Hence , just as they ’d be used to draw hapless victim by an variety of predatory felines , these deep mammals belike employed them for meet aquatic plants and territorial disputes . Another classifiable feature is the quartet of knobs ( scientifically dubbed “ ossicones ” ) atop their prehistoric noggins .
For a stop - motion and massively - oversized Uintatherium ( in realism , they were just about the size of a forward-looking clean rhinoceros ) , turn back out this 1992 Nissin Cup - oxygen - Noodle Ad :
4.Longistromeryx: A Saber-Toothed Deer
Four separate species of this Nebraskan genus are known to science . The function of their unmated canine stay something of a mystery , but the official internet site ofAshfall Fossil Beds State Park highlight some of the bizarre companyit kept 12 million years ago .
5.Oncorhynchus rastrosus: A Salmon With A Nasty Bite
Native to the rivers and streams of Ice Age Oregon and California , thissaber - toothed salmonreached more than six feet in length — an absolutely massive sizing by salmon standards . harmonise to paleo - ichthyologist ( prehistoric fish experts ) , its stuffy life relative is the sockeye ( Oncorhynchus nerka ) .
6.Smilodon: The Legendary Saber-Toothed Cat
Courtesy of American Museum of Natural History
In actuality , there were more than a dozen species of “ saber - toothed qat " ( none of which , by the direction , was a Panthera tigris ) . ButSmilodonis by far the well - know : More than 100 specimens have been unearth at the La Brea Tar Inferno alone . But how did the animal whose Romance name literally have in mind “ knife tooth ” utilise its dreaded sabers ? No consensus be , but there ’s sure no deficit of idea . These includerelying on powerful forelimb to subdue prey before break up its windpipeand throwing back their head and repeatedly prod their target . A particularly speculative supposition holds that they may have even been“blood - sucking ” tools .
7.Thylacosmilus: A Prehistoric ‘Copy Cat’
“ Convergent Evolution ” is a terminal figure used to key out “ the independent emergence of similar traits and body outlines in unrelated organism . " Often , the life form in interrogative are separated by thousands of miles , as in the case of the aforementionedSmilodonandThylacosmilus — a marsupial - similar carnivore from present - daylight South America .
8.Gomphotaria: A Four-Tusked Walrus
Denver Museum of Nature and Science paleontologist Kirk Johnson once correctly observed that “ walruses are sabre - toothed seals . ” in particular well - endue wasGomphotaria , which lived off the North American western seaboard and blow two set of saber - tooth . These were rooted in the marine mammal ’s upper and lower jaw . A rather proficient account on these enthralling beasts can be seenhere .
