Saber-toothed cat

Saber-toothed cat, either of 2 genera of extinct cats of the Cenozoic: Smilodon of North America and Machairodus of Europe and Asia. Slightly smaller than lions but similar in build, saber-toothed tigers had enormous upper canines, up to 10 in (254 mm) long, which they probably used as daggers to pierce the skin of their prey.