Machairodontidae
| Machairodontines Temporal range: Miocene - Holocene, 23–0.01 Ma |
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| Mounted fossil skeleton of a Smilodon fatalis, National Museum of Natural History | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| 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 living from about 23 million until about 11,000 years ago.
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), dagger. Sometimes, other carnivorous mammals with elongated teeth are also called saber-toothed cats, although they do not belong to the felids. Besides the machairodonts, saber-toothed predators also arose in Nimravidae, Barbourofelidae, Machaeroidinae, Hyaenodontida and even in two groups of metatherians (Thylacosmilidae sparassodonts and deltatheroideans).
The Machairodontinae originated in the early or middle Miocene of Africa. The early felid Pseudaelurus quadridentatus showed a trend towards elongated upper canines, and is believed to be at the base of the machairodontine evolution. The earliest known machairodont genus is the middle Miocene Miomachairodus from Africa and Turkey. Until the late Miocene, machairodontines co-existed at several places together with barbourofelids, archaic large carnivores that also bore long sabre-teeth.
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