Rhizosmilodon was a genus of saber-tooth cat of the subfamily Machairodontinae that lived during the Early Pliocene and was discovered in the U.S. state of Florida. Comparable in size to a medium-sized modern jaguar at about 165 lb. in weight, Rhizosmilodon is known only from Florida (though it likely inhabited other areas of North America. The best specimens for this species are its lower jaw and teeth, which carry intermediate characteristics between advanced forms such as Smilodon and primitive forms such as Paramachairodus. It was likely an ambush predator, preying on animals such as deer, tapirs and horses.
| Rhizosmilodon Temporal range: Early Pliocene | |
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| A restored sketch sheet of Rhizosmilodon fiteae along with a Megalodon | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | †Machairodontinae |
| Tribe: | †Smilodontini |
| Genus: | †Rhizosmilodon Wallace & Hulbert, 2013 |
| Species: | †R. fiteae |
| Binomial name | |
| †Rhizosmilodon fiteae Wallace & Hulbert, 2013 | |