Smilodon
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Smilodon is a genus of extinct felids. It is one of the best-known saber-toothed predators and prehistoric mammals. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely related to th
Smilodon populator fossil, Tellus Science Museum 1
1869 lithograph of the holotype molar and maxilla fragment of S. fatalis
Comparison between the skulls of the machairodonts Homotherium, Megantereon, and Smilodon, by Mauricio Antón
S. fatalis skeleton at the US National Museum of Natural History
Machairodontinae
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Machairodontinae is an extinct subfamily of carnivoran mammals of the cat family Felidae, representing the earliest diverging major branch of the family.
Smilodon
…Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely related to the tiger or other modern cats, belonging to the extinct subfamily Machairodontinae, with an estimated date of divergence from the ancestor of living cats around 20 million years ago. Smilodon was one of the last surviving machairodonts…
Machairodontinae
Undersides of the skulls of two Smilodon, the skull on the left being in the process of replacing the canines
Domestic cat skull, at maximum gape (80°)
Smilodon fatalis skull, at maximum gape (128°)