Though sometimes called a “saber-toothed tiger”, they are not directly related to tigers or other pantherine cats such as lions, leopards, and jaguars. Smilodon are one of the last of the machairodonts, or Machairodontinae, a branch of the cat family tree that evolved elongated saber-like upper canine teeth.
Although first seen and described by Spanish explorers in the 16th century, the species was not formally recorded until their discovery by Lewis and Clark on their trip across the continent in 1804-'06, and was not named until 1839.
They are more robustly built than other cats, with particularly well-developed forelimbs and exceptionally long upper canine teeth. Its jaw has a bigger gape than that of other cats, and its upper canines are slender and fragile, being adapted for precision killing.
The saber-tooth inhabits open to mixed woodlands and shrublands. It is usually more diurnal than other wild cats, but when persecuted, it adapts to being active at night and at twilight. During the Neolithic period, the saber-tooth ranged as far north as Alberta, Canada and on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, but it has been reduced to fragmented populations in southern and central North America, Central America, and western South America. Although the cause of the decline is not fully understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are the greatest causes for concern.
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