This is a species of now extinct feline, which belonged to the Macairodontin subfamily, experts affirm that the saber-toothed tiger appeared for the first time in the American continent specifically in the northern hemisphere of it, during the Pliocene period and it was extinguished in the extreme south of the same during the event that was denominated like Great American interchange. It is believed that the males of this species could reach 300 kg and their distinguishing feature was the huge canine teeth that protruded from their jaws, which has made them one of the most popular extinct animals among people.
The ancient saber-toothed tiger could be compared to what the African lion is today, it could reach an average height of 1.1 meters among the largest specimens, with a much more robust body than that of the lion and can easily reach 280 kilograms, the females with respect to the males did not present significant differences in terms of size, therefore the experts have the theory that if they lived in groups their behavior is comparable to how the packs of wolves are today.
Data from studies carried out on their fossils, which have been found in the American continent, show that they lived approximately 1.5 million years ago, in the regions of Central America it was common for them to frequent tropical climate zones where conifers were abundant, the bushes and the grasslands, in order to locate their prey, which were generally large, among which the horses and bison stand out, but it was not until after they knocked down their prey, that it proceeded to use their canine teeth, which were approximately 17 centimeters in size, were inserted into the neck of the prey, thus giving the final blow.
The extinction of this animal happened approximately 10 thousand years ago when most of the great animals of the planet became extinct, which caused many of the remaining species to migrate towards the grasslands, for which the saber-toothed tiger could not adapt to survive.
