Saber-Toothed Cat Had a Huge Skull, But a Puny Bite

A newly described fossil skull from one of the largest of the saber-toothed cats, Machairodus horribilis, is the biggest saber-toothed skull ever found, and is helping scientists understand the diversity of killing techniques used by these extinct and fearsome predators. The skull was excavated from the Longjiagou Basin in Gansu Province, China, but languished in storage for decades before researchers rediscovered it in a collection room and identified it in the new study. And while M. horribilis may have had the biggest skull of the saber-toothed cats, it didn't necessarily have the biggest bite.