The saber-toothed cat (Smilodon californicus) was
named the official California State Fossil in 1968. Common in California
40 million years ago, the saber-toothed cat was a powerful, tiger-sized
carnivore with eight-inch fangs. It hunted thick-skinned animals
such as mastodons and woolly mammoths.
The saber-toothed cat became
extinct about 12,000 years ago, but many bones have been excavated
from the La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles.
The saber-toothed cat and other prehistoric mammal bones from the
tar pits are displayed at the George C. Page Museum on Wilshire
Boulevard.
The saber-toothed cat (Smilodon californicus) was
named the official California State Fossil in 1968. Common in California
40 million years ago, the saber-toothed cat was a powerful, tiger-sized
carnivore with eight-inch fangs. It hunted thick-skinned animals
such as mastodons and woolly mammoths.