Research overview: Homotherium records in South America

This overview surveys evidence that the scimitar-toothed cat Homotherium reached South America, expanding its already vast range across the Americas. Fossil discoveries, including material reported from late Pleistocene deposits in Uruguay and neighbouring regions, indicate that the genus crossed into the southern continent during or after the Great American Biotic Interchange, where it coexisted with the giant Smilodon populator. The survey reviews the rarity and significance of these southern records, the questions they raise about how two large sabertooths partitioned prey and habitat, and what they imply about the dispersal abilities of Homotherium. It also notes the challenges of identifying fragmentary scimitar-cat remains and the ongoing reassessment of machairodont biogeography in South America.