These animals lived in the Pleistocene epoch, from around 1.8 million years ago to ten thousand years ago, and inhabited both North and South America. Anyone who has been to the La Brea Tar Pits (lucky people, I still haven't been there) has likely seen the skeleton of one of these imposing felines, most notably their enormous front fangs, which could reach around 11 inches in length. Despite their large size, these canines were actually rather weak, and in a new study published last week, it was revealed that these teeth required assistance in their function from other parts of the body. See, most modern feline teeth have conical cores, providing them with a great deal of strength against the stresses they encounter during biting and piercing. Smilodon, however, had oval-shaped teeth, and this made them more vulnerable to breaking during use. 
Additionally, Smilodon's jaws had smaller zygomatic arches, which reduce the thickness of the temporalis muscles, and thus reduce the available bite force.But in the study, scientists have discovered that this was not a huge problem for Smilodon, as it had immensely powerful front limbs to account for this. The study plotted
the rigidity and strength of the arm bones of Smilodon against several other species, and it was revealed that the comparative strength of these was remarkably powerful. They had thicker forelimbs and thicker cortical bone, which would have allowed the animal a great deal more flexing power with the front limbs. This means that, despite it's decreased ability to use it's bite as a weapon, Smilodon could have easily wrestled prey to the ground with it's beefy arms, and then let the jaws finish the prey off.Just goes to show, evolution is a much better body-builder than any human being. (Especially me, I tried doing pull-ups this morning, and I could barely finish two of them before my arms just about exploded...)
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