Canine Function in Smilodon (Mammalia, Felidae, Machairodontinae)

In this classic functional study, Akersten proposed the canine shear-bite model for Smilodon, addressing how an animal could use such elongated, blade-like upper canines without snapping them. He argued that the sabertooth did not stab in the manner of a dagger thrust into bone, which would risk fracture, but instead anchored prey with its forelimbs and incisors, then drove the head downward so the serrated canines sliced through the soft tissues of the throat or belly. This shearing action would sever major blood vessels and the windpipe, causing rapid death while minimizing lateral stress on the teeth. The shear-bite hypothesis became the foundational framework against which later biomechanical and modelling studies of sabertooth killing behaviour were tested.