A new analysis suggests saber teeth were highly specialized for puncturing prey, ultimately at the cost of durability.

A study titled "Functional optimality underpins the repeated evolution of the extreme 'saber-tooth' morphology" published in Current Biology reveals why: these teeth were 'functionally optimal ...

Saber teeth – the long, sharp, blade-like canines found in extinct predators such as Smilodon – represent one of the most extreme dental adaptations in nature. They evolved at least five times ...

In the history of teeth, perhaps no tooth is as famous as the saber tooth. These long, blade-like canines seem almost perfectly optimized to kill prey. They've evolved at least five times in ...