What do the sabre-tooth tiger, T-Rex and megalodon have in common? Think about their diet, what did they eat? They ate meat. They were carnivorous. Even though they do not exist anymore, we can still learn about them through paleontology.
The sabre-tooth tiger had their famous sharp and elongated teeth. These teeth were up to 20 cm long, which helped them hunt their prey. Some people believe that their teeth were strong enough to puncture bones. The sabre-tooth tiger mainly ate herbivores. For example, bison, horses, deer, sloths, and antelopes.
Much of what we know about sabre-tooth tigers come from their remains and bone specimens. The La Brea Tar Pits in the U.S. is almost like a time machine that takes us back to the Ice Age. This tar pit contains bones of sabre-tooth tigers and other animals. It appears that the sabre-tooth tigers got stuck in the tar as they hunted other animals. The sticky substance caused the sabre-tooth tigers to remain trapped in the pit.
The original "Jurassic Park" movie from 1993 made the T-Rex famous. It introduced the Tyrannosaurus rex as one of the most fearsome creatures of all time. Those that have seen the movie would say that is an irrefutable fact. It is often nicknamed T-Rex, and it lived in the forests and swamps of North America. The T-Rex had a bulky body and walked on two feet. It also had a big head with enormous jaws. The jaws were extremely powerful. Because of the movie, the T-Rex is known for its brutish force.
Paleontologists say that the jaws could snap shut with up to 5,000 pounds of force. Despite its big body, the T.-Rex had comically short arms. With such short arms, the T-Rex would barely have been able to hold onto its prey. In part because of its short arms, many paleontologists now believe that perhaps the T-Rex wasn't the fearsome predator we've always thought it was.
The T-Rex was a scavenger. Like modern scavengers, such as vultures and komodo dragons, the T-Rex had rotten bacteria in its mouth that infected its prey. Once the T-Rex sunk its teeth into its prey, it was a slow but certain death for the smaller dinosaur. Along with having short, useless arms, the T. Rex was also really slow. It's possible that a full-grown T-Rex could run at only 15 km per hour. That's the same speed as a child on a bicycle.
Fearsome carnivores did not just roam the land, they ruled the waters as well. Most people believe the megalodon looked like a very big shark. The megalodon is only known from its fragmentary remains. Paleontologists believe that the megalodon could eat over 2500 pounds of food a day.
The megalodon had a huge mouth with many teeth. Sharks lose their teeth on a regular basis, so the megalodon's teeth could be found in waters all around the world. Each tooth they had was as long as a banana! Its bite was so powerful it could crush a modern car.
We do not see these fearsome creatures anymore. Many of their extinctions coincided with changes in the climate, which disrupted their food supplies. It is difficult to tell what these creatures looked like with precision due to incomplete fossils. Paleontologists are always making new discoveries and learning more about these creatures from the past.