Question

smilodon was an ancient mammal that went extinct around 10,000 years ago. here are pictures of a smilodon fossil, a living lion, and a living camel.

which traits can you observe in the fossil of smilodon, the living lion, and the living camel? complete the table.

	smilodon	lion	camel
claws on feet	✔	✔
two - toed hooves
a long, curved neck			✔
sharp, pointed teeth

based on the table, which living mammal shares more traits with smilodon?

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze each trait for Smilodon, Lion, Camel

• Four legs: Smilodon (fossil shows four legs) → check; Lion (has four legs) → check; Camel (has four legs) → check.
• Claws on feet: Already checked for Smilodon and Lion, Camel has hooves so no check.
• Two - toed hooves: Camel has two - toed hooves → check; Smilodon has claws, Lion has claws → no check.
• A long, curved neck: Camel has (already checked), Smilodon and Lion do not → no check.
• Sharp, pointed teeth: Smilodon (fossil teeth are sharp) → check; Lion (has sharp teeth) → check; Camel (has flat teeth for grazing) → no check.

Step2: Count shared traits with Smilodon

• Traits of Smilodon: Four legs (check), Claws on feet (check), Sharp, pointed teeth (check).
• Lion's shared traits: Four legs (check), Claws on feet (check), Sharp, pointed teeth (check) → 3 traits.
• Camel's shared traits: Four legs (check), Two - toed hooves (no, Smilodon has claws), A long, curved neck (no), Sharp, pointed teeth (no) → 1 trait.

Answer:

The living mammal that shares more traits with Smilodon is the Lion.