  smilodon  is an extinct genus of machairodont felid. it is perhaps the best known saber-toothed cat and lived in north and south america during the pleistocene epoch (2.5 myaâ10,000 years ago). one of the largest collections of its fossils has been obtained from the la brea tar pits. three species of the genus are known; they vary in size and build. overall, smilodon was more robustly built than any modern cat, with particularly well-developed forelimbs and exceptionally long upper canines. its jaw had a bigger gape than modern cats and its upper canines were slender and fragile, being adapted for precision killing. these attributes likely made smilodon a specialized hunter of large herbivores, such as bison and camels. smilodon likely lived in closed habitats, such as forests and bush, which would have provided cover for ambushing prey. its reliance on large animals may have been the cause of its extinction; smilodon died out at the same time that most north and south american megafauna disappeared, about 10,000 years ago. scientists debate over whether smilodon had a social or a solitary lifestyle; analysis of modern predator behavior as well as of smilodon's fossil remains could be construed to lend support to either view. ==etymology==  the nickname "saber-tooth" refers to the extreme length of their maxillary canines. despite the colloquial name "saber-toothed tiger", smilodon is not closely related to the tiger (or any other living felid); the latter belongs to the subfamily pantherinae, whereas smilodon belongs to the subfamily machairodontinae. the name smilodon comes from greek: , (smilÄ), "carving knife"ÏÎ¼Î¯Î»Î·, henry george liddell, rober
Mammal_genera Megafauna_of_South_America Neogene_Megafauna_of_North_America Pleistocene_carnivorans Pleistocene_extinctions Prehistoric_mammals_of_North_America Prehistoric_mammals_of_South_America Smilodon