Smilodon (S. populator "sabertooth"), also known as the South American sabertooth tiger; It was an extinct carnivorous species of felid that inhabited South America and belonging to the Machairodontinae subfamily that lived during the Upper Pleistocene, until its extinction about 10,000 years ago.
Smilodonn populator is the largest species of its genus, measuring up to 1.2 meters in height and 2.3 meters in length, and can weigh up to 400 kilos.
Their long saber teeth, up to 28 cm in length, were relatively fragile and therefore could not be used until the prey was completely still, for which they used the powerful muscles of their legs to immobilize them before delivering the death bite.
They could not run at high speeds to catch their prey, but they could travel with other sabertooths in order to ambush and/or hunt them, such prey could be large mammals such as glyptodons, toxodonts, megatherians, and other herbivores.
The Smilodon populator has adapted to a wide variety of habitats, from tropical forests and jungles to drier, more arid regions. It is believed that this species was very versatile and able to adapt to different environments, which allowed it to survive for a long time.
The Model Pose represents a resting specimen at the beginning of the recent Ice Age.
Approximate measurements of the Smilodon
- Scale 1:35 - 60 mm
- Scale 1:20 - 95 mm
