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The large extinct cats known as smilodon lived approximately 3 million-10,000 years ago in North America and South America. They are the only known successors to Machairodus. Smilodon means knife tooth — an entirely appropriate name. The smilodon species are also known as sabertooth or sabre-toothed tigers (which is inaccurate) or sabertooth cats.

Three species of Smilodon are known to have existed:

• Smilodon fatalis, 1.6 million-10,000 years ago
• Smilodon gracilis, 2.5 million-500,000 years ago
• Smilodon populator, 1 million-10,000 years ago

• Smilodon californicus and Smilodon floridus may be subspecies of Smilodon fatalis.

Smilodon was approximately 350 kg and had a short tail, powerful legs and a large head. Its jaws could open 95 degrees. Its fangs were about 17 cm (7 inches)To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 10-1 m and 1 m (10 cm and 1 m). See also lengths of other orders of magnitude. Shorter lengths 10 cm is equal to 1 decimetre, 100 millimetres, 3. 9 inches, width of square of ar long.

Many Smilodon fossils have been unearthed at the La Brea Tar PitsThe La Brea Tar Pits are tar pits in Hancock Park, Los Angeles, California; here buried asphalt seeps to the surface from the extensive petroleum deposits below the surface of the Los Angeles Basin. The large number of mammal fossils from the last ice age in Los AngelesThis article is about the city in California. For other uses of 'Los Angeles' see Los Angeles (disambiguation The City of Los Angeles widely known by its abbreviation L. is a large coastal metropolis in Southern California in the western United States., which is why it is the prehistoric cat researchers know the most about.