As far as fossil cats are concerned, there is no greater artist than Mauricio Antón. He has a knack for capturing the essence of fossil felids – be it a Homotherium pinning its preyHomotherium pinning its prey or Dinofelis taking a cat napDinofelis taking a cat nap – and I love that so many of Antón‘s illustrations feature spots and stripes. The sabercats I saw in books and stop-motion documentaries were never so colorful. They always seemed to wrapped in a relatively plain, dun-colored coat, making Smilodon look like a lion with abnormally-long canines.
Unfortunately, short of finding a frozen sabercat comparable to the steppe lion kittens announced earlier this year, we’ll probably never know the precise span of sabercat shades. But maybe we can narrow the field a little. Today’s cats, both big and small, might be able to help us predict the presence of spots and stripes in their toothy, extinct relatives.
Today’s cats wear a beautiful array of coat patterns, from plain to dense constellations of spots and stripes. These different color options are largely dictated by two genes – Taqpep and Edn3 – the first of which lays down the general pattern of spots and stripes while the second controls local color differences, like hair banding. But these patterns don’t follow family lines. Just have a look at Panthera, the genus that includes most of the classic big cat species. There are lions (spots giving way to “plain” coloration), jaguars (large, filled-in spots), leopards (large open spots), snow leopards (large open spots), and tigers (vertical stripes) all within the same genus. Something else is more important than felid family ties in determining coat colors, and, in a 2010 study, ethologist William Allen and colleagues suggested that the answer is “ecology.”
After pulling images of 35 wild cat species from the web – because what else is the Internet good for other than cat pictures? – Allen and coauthors analyzed how coat patterns related to different species’ habitat preferences and activity patterns. Cat coats, they realized, “function as a background matching camouflage.” Cats in open, well-lit environments are more likely to have relatively plain coats while those living in forested habitats or active at primarily at night typically have complex patterns of spots and horizontal stripes.
There are some exceptions to this rule. Cheetahs, servals, and black-footed cats have spotted coats despite living in the same type grasslands as lions, while the elusive bay cat has a mostly-uniform coat despite prowling forests. Maybe these discrepancies have something to do with “microhabitats” or some sort of behavior not parsed out in the study, Allen and colleagues wrote, but for the most part a cat’s coat is more influenced by its ecology than who its related to.
The same probably held true for the sabercats. So while the forest-dwelling Dinofelis would be more likely to bear spots and stripes, Homotherium and other open-country cats may have lost their spots to be less conspicuous out in the grasslands.
So what about Smilodon? The cat is the ambassador for its long-fanged relatives as well as the Ice Age in general. While we may never know for sure, places like La Brea – where the sabercat is found in abundance – suggest that the iconic sabercat frequented shrubby chaparral. If the ecological connection held, therefore, Smilodon may have worn more subdued hues like the modern mountain lions that live in southern California today, or perhaps it was decked in solid spots much like the cheetah, serval, black-footed cat trio in Africa.
Despite its common nickname “saber-toothed tiger”, though, we can be pretty sure Smilodon didn’t have vertical stripes. Not only are sabercats and tigers distant relatives, but, as Allen and colleagues found, tigers are the only cats to have vertical stripes on their flanks. Perhaps the best we can hope for is that some Pleistocene artisan somewhere was inspired enough by the fossil cats to record their pelage palette for us to envision as Ice Age world that we just missed.
References:
Allen, W., Cuthill, I., Scott-Samuel, N., Baddeley, R. 2011. Why the leopard got its spots: relating pattern development to ecology in felids. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2010.1734
Kaelin, C., Xu, X., Hong, L., David, V., McGowan, K., Schmidt-Küntzel, Roelke, M., Pino, J., Pontius, J., Cooper, G., Manuel, H., Swanson, W., Marker, L., Harper, C., van dyk, A., Yue, B., Mullikin, J., Warren, W., Eizirik, E., Kos, L., O’Brien, S., Barsh, G., Menotti-Raymon, M. 2012. Specifying and sustaining pigmentation patterns in domestic and wild cats. Science. doi: 10.1126/science.1220893
Ortolani, A. 1999. Spots, stripes, tail tips and dark eyes: Predicting the function of carnivore colour patterns using the comparative method. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 67: 433-476
Go Further
Animals
- Octopuses have a lot of secrets. Can you guess 8 of them?
- Animals
- Feature
Octopuses have a lot of secrets. Can you guess 8 of them? - This biologist and her rescue dog help protect bears in the AndesThis biologist and her rescue dog help protect bears in the Andes
- An octopus invited this writer into her tank—and her secret worldAn octopus invited this writer into her tank—and her secret world
- Peace-loving bonobos are more aggressive than we thoughtPeace-loving bonobos are more aggressive than we thought
Environment
- This ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrificeThis ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrifice
- U.S. plans to clean its drinking water. What does that mean?U.S. plans to clean its drinking water. What does that mean?
- Food systems: supporting the triangle of food security, Video Story
- Paid Content
Food systems: supporting the triangle of food security - Will we ever solve the mystery of the Mima mounds?Will we ever solve the mystery of the Mima mounds?
- Are synthetic diamonds really better for the planet?Are synthetic diamonds really better for the planet?
- This year's cherry blossom peak bloom was a warning signThis year's cherry blossom peak bloom was a warning sign
History & Culture
- Strange clues in a Maya temple reveal a fiery political dramaStrange clues in a Maya temple reveal a fiery political drama
- How technology is revealing secrets in these ancient scrollsHow technology is revealing secrets in these ancient scrolls
- Pilgrimages aren’t just spiritual anymore. They’re a workout.Pilgrimages aren’t just spiritual anymore. They’re a workout.
- This ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrificeThis ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrifice
- This ancient cure was just revived in a lab. Does it work?This ancient cure was just revived in a lab. Does it work?
- See how ancient Indigenous artists left their markSee how ancient Indigenous artists left their mark
Science
- Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io has been erupting for billions of yearsJupiter’s volcanic moon Io has been erupting for billions of years
- This 80-foot-long sea monster was the killer whale of its timeThis 80-foot-long sea monster was the killer whale of its time
- Every 80 years, this star appears in the sky—and it’s almost timeEvery 80 years, this star appears in the sky—and it’s almost time
- How do you create your own ‘Blue Zone’? Here are 6 tipsHow do you create your own ‘Blue Zone’? Here are 6 tips
- Why outdoor adventure is important for women as they ageWhy outdoor adventure is important for women as they age
Travel
- This town is the Alps' first European Capital of CultureThis town is the Alps' first European Capital of Culture
- This royal city lies in the shadow of Kuala LumpurThis royal city lies in the shadow of Kuala Lumpur
- This author tells the story of crypto-trading Mongolian nomadsThis author tells the story of crypto-trading Mongolian nomads
- Slow-roasted meats and fluffy dumplings in the Czech capitalSlow-roasted meats and fluffy dumplings in the Czech capital