Machairodontinae

Machairodontinae Temporal range: Miocene – Holocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Homotherium venezuelensis, Machairodus aphanistus, Metailurus sp. and Smilodon fatalis
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	Felidae
Subfamily:	†Machairodontinae Gill, 1872
Subgroups
†Homotherini †Machairodontini †Metailurini †Smilodontini

Machairodontinae is an extinct subfamily of carnivoran mammals of the family Felidae (true cats). They were found in Asia, Africa, North America, South America, and Europe from the Miocene to the Pleistocene, living from about 16 million until about 10,000 years ago.^[1][2]

The Machairodontinae contain many of the extinct predators commonly known as "saber-toothed cats", including the famed genus Smilodon, as well as other cats with only minor increases in the size and length of their maxillary canines. The name means "dagger-tooth", from Greek μάχαιρα (machaira), sword. Sometimes, other carnivorous mammals with elongated teeth are also called saber-toothed cats, although they do not belong to the felids. Besides the machairodonts, other saber-toothed predators also arose in the nimravids, barbourofelids, machaeroidines, hyaenodonts and even in two groups of metatherians (the thylacosmilid sparassodonts and the deltatheroideans).^[3]