In March 2000, while fishing for flatfish, a Dutch
fishing vessel from the village of Urk in The Netherlands
brought up a fossilized lower jaw bone of a sabertoothed
cat (Homotherium latidens) from the bottom
of the North Sea. At that time it was thought that this
Eurasian species went extinct some 300,000 - 400,000
years ago. When the jawbone was radiocarbon-dated,
the startling result was an age of 28,000 years. This
sensational finding has been the incentive to produce
this educational and abundantly-illustrated book,
providing never-before-published pictures.
The authors discuss the North Sea floor as a rich
source of fossil mammal remains from the Pleistocene
(ice age) epoch. In addition they give a very accurate
account of the subfamily of saber-toothed cats and a
fascinating discussion of their evolution in different
habitats, including the once dry North Sea landscape.
They also elaborate on the sabertooth’s hunting
techniques and target prey such as woolly mammoths,
woolly rhinos and steppe bison. The classification
and dating of the jaw is presented, along with other
evidence of late Pleistocene presence of this species in
Europe, as well as the most important fossil localities
worldwide for saber-toothed cats.