Smilodon. Computer illustration and photo-reconstruction of the sabre-toothed cat Smilodon. Smilodon is an iconic prehistoric predator. This sabre-toothed cat is an extinct genus of large mammalian carnivores. Smilodon belongs to the subfamily Machairodontinae of the family Felidae. A large, short-limbed cat that lived in North and South America during the Pleistocene Epoch, it was about the size of the modern African lion (Panthera leo) and represents the peak of sabre-tooth evolution.