Machairodont sabre-toothed cat

Smilodon

This is Smilodon, a meat-eating cat from the Americas with long, flattened upper canine teeth.

Look at the two long, flattened upper canines. Do they look like curved blades resting beside its mouth?

Meet this animal

When it lived: Late Pliocene to end-Pleistocene (about 2.5 million–13,000 years ago, genus range)
Fossil discovery regions: North America, South America
Size: 1.7–2.1 metres
Diet: Meat-eater
Classification: Machairodont sabre-toothed cat

Smilodon was a machairodont felid, not a true tiger. Research on the North American species S. fatalis shows exceptionally robust forelimb bones, well suited to restraining large prey before the long upper canines delivered a bite. Those canines were spectacular but needed protection from forces applied in the wrong direction.

Scientific sources

Reconstruction and uncertainty

The source labels the model only “smilodon” and does not identify S. gracilis, S. fatalis or S. populator. Genus-level time, range and size context is not a species identification.
The model is displayed at 2.1 metres total length, near the large end of the selected range; species and individuals varied substantially.
Coat colour, external ears, nose and muscle outlines are not directly preserved; this is a stylised sculpt.
The source mesh has exactly one connected body component and no separate pedestal. The owner reviewed the added breathing and head-sway display motions.

Meet this animal

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