What is Saber–toothed cat?
[[File:SkullSaberToothCatGDL.JPG|230px|thumb|''[[Smilodon]]'' skull. Illustrates the huge gape of its sabretooth jaws. This is the larger species, ''Smilodon populator'']] [[File:Holophoneusskull1.jpg|thumb|200px|The skull of ''[[Hoplophoneus]]'', a Nimravid, showing the jaw flange which helped to protect the sabre-like teeth]] [[File:Barbourofelis loveorum.jpg|200px|thumb|''[[Barbourofelis]]'']] [[File:Thylacosmilus Atrox.jpg|200px|thumb|''[[Thylacosmilus]] atrox'' skull]] [[File:Smilodon head.jpg|180px|thumb|''Smilodon'' skull and upper [[cervical vertebra]]e]] The '''saber{{ndash}}toothed cats''' or '''sabretooth cats''' are some of the best known and most popular [[extinct]] animals. They are among the most impressive [[carnivore]]s that ever have lived. These [[cat]]s had long canines and jaws which opened wider than modern cats. This suggests a different style of killing from modern [[felines]].<ref>The first person to suggest this was W.D. Matthew, a Canadian-born palaeontologist who was a curator of the [[American Museum of Natural History]]. Matthew W.D. 1910. The phylogeny of the Felidae. ''Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History''. '''28''', 289–316.</ref> The sabre-tooth style of life evolved at least five times amongst [[carnivorous]] [[mammals]]. This is one of the best-known examples of [[convergent evolution]]. #[[Creodont]]s, were the earliest sabre-tooths known. They lived in the [[Eocene]], and are in a different [[Order (biology)|order]] from the [[Feliformia]]. ''[[Machaeroides]]'' and ''[[Apataelurus]]'' are examples. #The [[Nimravidae|Nimravids]] were a [[basal]] group in the [[Feliformia]], lasting from the Eocene to the later [[Miocene]] [[Epoch (geology)|epoch]]s. ''[[Hoplophoneus]]'' is an example. #The [[Barbourofelidae]] is another family of Feliforms which developed the sabre-tooth lifestyle. They flourished in the Miocene. They are probably more closely related to the felids than the Nimravids. #[[Sparassodont]]s, such as ''[[Thylacosmilus]]'', were a [[metatheria]]n