Saber-Tooth Cat Skull, Smilodon fatalis

Late Pleistocene, 20,000-12,000 years before present

The largest and best-preserved Sabre-tooth cat skull ever recovered from the famed La Brea Tar Pits.

Dating to the Late Pleistocene, this extraordinary skull belonged to Smilodon fatalis, one of the most iconic predators of the prehistoric world. Over 98% intact, it is exceptional in both preservation and condition. Recovered in the 1950s from the La Brea deposits of Los Angeles, whose asphalt seeps produced some of the world’s most important Ice Age fossil discoveries, the skull is believed to be the largest example known from the site.

This piece is now in a Private Collection.