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Smilodon — Smilodon
Smilodon — Dantheman9758 at English Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Mammal

Smilodon

Sabre-toothed cat

Smilodon fatalis is the sabre-toothed cat of Rancho La Brea and the Pleistocene Americas, known from thousands of bones at the tar pits (which are protected and never sold) and from Florida rivers and South American caves. Genuine Smilodon canines and bones are rare in trade and expensive; most 'sabre-tooth' skulls offered are casts, and Chinese Machairodus material is sometimes passed off as Smilodon. Provenance is everything.

PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderCarnivora
FamilyFelidae
GroupMammal
Rank (PBDB)genus· Paleobiology Database
AuthorLund 1841· Paleobiology Database
Common name (PBDB)saber-toothed cat· Paleobiology Database
Classification (PBDB)Chordata › Mammalia › Carnivora › Felidae· Paleobiology Database
Range (PBDB)4.7–0 Ma· Paleobiology Database
PBDB occurrences137· Paleobiology Database

Photographs

Smilodon — Smilodon fatalis (Leidy)
Smilodon fatalis (Leidy) — Smithsonian Institution (NMNHPALEO), Smithsonian Open Access, CC0
Smilodon — Smilodon fatalis Leidy, 1869 (NHMUK PV M 15289)
Smilodon fatalis Leidy, 1869 (NHMUK PV M 15289) — © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, Natural History Museum (London) Data Portal, CC BY 4.0
Smilodon — Smilodon populator Lund, 1842, NON-TYPE (NHMUK PV OR 18972 b)
Smilodon populator Lund, 1842, NON-TYPE (NHMUK PV OR 18972 b) — © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, Natural History Museum (London) Data Portal, CC BY 4.0

Age

Elsewhere

Cite this article

Stratum Study. "Smilodon" (Taxon). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19. https://stratum.black/study/taxa/smilodon. Accessed 2026-09-20.

BibTeX · CSL-JSON

@misc{stratum-smilodon,
  title        = {Smilodon},
  author       = {{Stratum Study}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/taxa/smilodon}},
  year         = {2026},
  note         = {Taxon article, Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19; sources: stratum, pbdb, wikidata, commons, smithsonian, nhm. Accessed 2026-09-20.}
}

Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.