Panthera leo fossilis


Panthera leo fossilis is a fossil cat of the genus Panthera, which was first excavated near Mauer in Germany, and lived during the Upper Pleistocene.
Bone fragments of P. l. fossilis were also excavated near Pakefield in the United Kingdom, which are estimated at 680,000 years old.
Bone fragments excavated near Isernia in Italy are estimated at between 600,000 and 620,000 years old.
The first Asian record of a fossilis lion was found in the Kuznetsk Basin in western Siberia and dates to the late Early Pleistocene.

Evolution

P. l. fossilis is estimated to have evolved in Eurasia about 600,000 years ago from a large pantherine cat that originated in the Tanzanian Olduvai Gorge about 1.2–1.7 million years ago. This cat entered Eurasia about 780,000–700,000 years ago and gave rise to several lion-like forms. The first fossilis that can be definitively classified as P. l. fossilis date to 610,000 years ago. Recent nuclear genomic evidence suggest that interbreeding between modern lions and all Eurasian fossil lions took place up until 500,000 years ago, but by 470,000 years ago, no subsequent interbreeding between the two lineages occurred.

Characteristics

Bone fragments of P. l. fossilis indicate that it was larger than the modern lion and was among the largest cats. Skeletal remains of P. l. fossilis populations in Siberia measure larger than those in Central Europe. Compared to a modern lion, P. l. fossilis had a slightly wider skull and nasals, smaller orbits, less inflated bullae, less specialized lower teeth, reduced lower premolars and smaller incisors.

Taxonomic history

P. l. fossilis was considered an early lion subspecies. Some authors considered it a subspecies of Panthera spelaea.
Results of mitochondrial genome sequences derived from two Beringian specimens of Panthera spelaea indicate that it and Panthera fossilis were distinct enough from the modern lion to be considered separate species.

Palaeobiology

This lion coexisted with early humans and prehistoric fauna. A mandible from the early hominid Homo heidelbergensis was excavated in 1907 at Mauer, Germany.
Herbivores that coexisted with the lion included the hippopotamus, narrow-nosed rhinoceros, straight-tusked elephant, southern mammoth, moose, steppe bison and fallow deer. Sympatric predators included bears, wolves, hyenas and sabre-toothed cats.