smilodon

The robust forelimbs of saber-toothed cats are thought to have helped wrestle struggling prey to the ground before using their long teeth to slash a killing blow. This burly build was needed to ensure the long teeth weren’t broken by struggling prey.

Scientists never expected to find remains of saber-toothed cats in the grasslands of Argentina's Pampas region. But research indicates these animals hunted the plains of South America during the last ice age.

Paleontologists studying Smilodon fatalis, or the saber-toothed cat, have discovered that its dagger-like teeth grew at twice the rate of living big cats.