"Machairodus" probably hunted as an ambush predator. Its legs were too short to sustain a long chase, so it most likely was a good jumper, and used its canines to cut open the throat of its prey. Its teeth were rooted to its mouth and were as delicate as those in some related genera, unlike most saber-toothed cats and nimravids of the time, which often had extremely long canines which hung out of their mouths. The fangs of "Machairodus", however, were able to more easily fit in its mouth comfortably while being long and effective for hunting. Despite its great size, the largest example of "Machairodus", "M. horribilis" was better equipped to hunt relatively smaller prey than "Smilodon", as evidenced by its moderate jaw gape of 70 degrees, similar to the gape of a modern lion.