Smilodontini

Smilodontins Temporal range: Miocene - Holocene, 10.3–0.01 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
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
Tribe:	†Smilodontini Kretzoi, 1929
Genera
†Rhizosmilodon †Smilodon †Megantereon †Paramachairodus †Promegantereon

†Rhizosmilodon
†Smilodon
†Megantereon
†Paramachairodus
†Promegantereon

Smilodontini is an extinct tribe within the Machairodontinae or "saber-toothed cat" subfamily of the Felidae. The tribe is also known as the "dirk-toothed cats". They were endemic to South America, North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa during the Miocene to , from 10.3 mya—11,000 years ago, existing for approximately 10.289 million years.

As the name suggests, the famous genus of Smilodon is part of this group, but there are also three other distinct genera in Smilodontini. The earliest known genus of the tribe is Promegantereon, once thought to be a species of Paramachairodus. The tribe only became extinct 10,000 years ago, with the demise of Smilodon. All of these are saber-toothed cats, meaning that they have long narrow upper canines and stocky, well muscled proportions.

The various members of smilodontini are generally distinguished by their long, narrow upper canines. However, the stockiness often seen as one of the tribe's signature features varied between the different genera. Promegantereon and Paramachairodus for example, were likely arboreal or at the least, scansorial, given their moderately long tails, large dewclaws and smaller, slender builds. These species also had relatively small upper canines for their size, though they already showed the flat, blade-like edges that defined them as those of machairodonts. Megantereon, a later species, was more intermediate in physiology between these earlier forms and the more cursorial Rhizosmilodon and Smilodon itself, which were better built for life on ground, as well as bringing down relatively larger prey.