As mentioned here, Eram Zoo in Tehran, Iran, was founded in the 19th century by the Qajari Shah Naser Ad-Din, who had a collection of 5 bears from Damavand, judging by this Farsi website of Animal Rights Watch. Since the Asiatic black bear ranges from southeast Iran to East Asia, and the Syrian brown bear is present in northern and western Iran, particularly the area of Damavand Mountain or Damavand County in the north, these bears appear to be brown bears rather than black bears:

Brown bears in the vicinity of Mount Damavand in northern Iran: https://www.irandestination.com/hiking-i...d-volcano/



A captive bear which shocked pedestrians in Basrah, southern Iraq, in early 2018: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/...ld-rescue/

The body size of the lion (Panthera leo) 

I finally manage to compile all the information about the body size and weight for all the lion populations from which we have actual data. I manage to put it in one big image so here is the compilation of data about the body size and weight from Panthera leo:



This time I manage to put important remarks between the notes and the size of the Barbary lion reflects an "average" specimen, which now shows that it will be about the same size than the other populations of its subspecies. By the way, I know that a Barbary lion in the wild will probably not look like this, but as all the data available came from captive animals, I deciced to use a captive specimen. Other remark on the body measurements, especifically the total length/head-body/shoulder height from Indian lions reported by Jhala et al., (2019) were not included as were taken "along the curves" and I allready had measurements "between pegs" which are more reliable, but chest girths and weights did were included.

For those that want details on the weight of the southern populatiosn, here is the original table and can be used like a completement/Appendix to the previous image presented here:



Finally, we must not forget the particular population of lions in Ethiopia, which we only know captive specimens in the Addis Ababa Zoo, and we can't discard its measurements as we can use them like surrogates from the wild population if necesary, like we do with the Malayan and South China tigers, so I add this image too as it add details of other body measurements not included in my comparison image for space issues:



Finally about skulls, I have more information about many populations, which include that from J. H. Mazák (2010), Roosevelt & Heller (1914), Hartstone-Rose et al. (2014) and Stevenson Hamilton (1947), however with the last one I was searching in the book (yes, now I have the book! ) and he did not describe the method of measurements and I affraid that probably he measured his lion skulls "between perpendiculars" which was the method used by most hunters in his days and which, compared with measurements with callipers, may slightly increase the length, specially if the mandible is still attached to the skull. That is why I used only skulls measures by Zoologists using callipers.  

I think that these three images and tables summarize my data about the body size of the lion at this moment (January 2020), this have all the body measurements that I gathered and  if someone want body measurements this image contains it all. The only other extra information will be that of skulls. Sadly, many other populations are absent as there are no records reported, for example the famous Crater lions, so all out of this data is just speculation.

If someone have a doubt or request specific data from a population, feel free to ask.


Greetings and cheers to all.

This is the comments thread for "In the footprints of Smilodon populator". Please post any questions and comments regarding the topic of the article here.

In 2018, Angolin and colleagues published a record of a set of footprints from Late Pleistocene Argentina (50 kya) that were most likely made by Smilodon populator. 



A and B represent the manus (front paws) and C and D the pes (hind paws). The manus print was larger than the pes print. The manus measured 17.6 cm in width and 19.2 cm in length. The pes measured measured 13.0 cm in width and 8.5 cm in length. Based on the anatomy, size, and locality of the prints, Angolin and colleagues were confident the maker of these tracks was Smilodon populator. 

From these prints, aspects of the anatomy of the species can be inferred. For one, the prints support the notion that Smilodon populator was front heavy, with more robust forelimbs than hindlimbs. This notion is supported by the depth of the manus footprints being deeper than that of the pes footprints. As such, S. populator was very distinct in its body shape and has no extant felid mimic for comparison today. Another interesting revelation noted from the well developed medial and lateral lobes of the interdigital pads of the prints is that S. populator was partially or even fully plantigrade, strikingly different from extant felids which are digitgrade. Mauricio Anton illustrates the difference in a plantigrade and digitigrade posture in the hindlimbs in this artistic rendition:


The top image shows the hindlimbs in the digitigrade posture and the bottom image shows them in the plantigrade posture. According to the footprints, even the forelimbs were at least to some degree plantigrade, and thus one can imagine how that would modify the posture in the above drawing. Namely, the metacarpals would be much lower and perhaps almost in contact with the ground. Such a plantigrade posture is reasonable as it may better support the excessive mass the frame of S. populator  carries.

Next, the very large size of the species may be displayed by these tracks as asserted by Angolin et al. (2018). The manus tracks are larger than the even the largest tracks from P. spelaea (Deidrich 2011). In this sense, it is reasonable to infer that S. populator was very much larger than other cats. However, it must be noted the pes footprints are not as impressive. They are smaller than even the average P. spelaea (Deidrich 2011). This discrepancy shows the limitation of using footprint measurements in size comparisons when species are proportioned very differently. Nonetheless, it is still probably safe to say the specimen that left these tracks was bigger than most of today's largest felines. Finally, based on the lack of claw marks, the footprints show that S. populator had retractable claws like the majority of other felids. 

All in all, these tracks help reinforce our understanding of this lost giant. In the footprints, we see a cat at its core that has adaptations we have never seen during the Holocene. Who knows what new finds the future holds as we work toward recreating the long lost past.

References:
Agnolin, F. L., Chimento, N. R., Campo, D. H., Magnussen, M., Boh, D., & De Cianni, F. (2019). Large Carnivore Footprints from the Late Pleistocene of Argentina. Ichnos, 26(2), 119-126.

Diedrich, C. G. (2011). Late Pleistocene steppe lion Panthera leo spelaea (Goldfuss, 1810) footprints and bone records from open air sites in northern Germany–evidence of hyena-lion antagonism and scavenging in Europe. Quaternary Science Reviews, 30(15-16), 1883-1906.


This article is part of a new series published at WildFact. Comments, questions, and the like regarding this article can be posted here.he.

This is a very interesting video.  I started watching more videos from the youtube channel who brought the news of Megalodon maximum size being only around 14/15 meters.  In this video Meg is not even close to looking like a great white shark.  It looks very bulky and its mouth/gap is not as big as in many past pictures.  This is not currently a 100% accurate picture but one that is right now the closest we have of how Meg really looked like. I put a picture below and a video.   Its mouth is not as wide gap as I thought.  

new study on Meg.  it calculated its frontal teeth to give a more accurate size....so we have it at 14-15 meters at maximum with 15 meters being extremely rare.   I think a POD of Orcas can seriously hurt Meg now.   Leviathan Melville Sperm Whale now will and can defeat it.   Average size is not talked about but I am guessing around maybe 12-13.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2019.1666840

Otodus megalodon (Lamniformes: Otodontidae) is a gigantic late Neogene shark that lived nearly worldwide in tropical-temperate regions. Its gigantic teeth have captivated imaginations of the scientific community and general public alike, where the most commonly cited maximum size range of O. megalodon in scientific literature is 18–20 m in total length (TL). In this study, I reexamined the ontogenetic development of teeth and the quantitative relationships between TL and the crown height of anterior teeth in the extant white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, with an ultimate goal to clarify the current state of the scientific understanding of the body size of O. megalodon. My study suggests that the use of upper anterior teeth is much preferred over lower anterior teeth when estimating TL. This study combined with previous studies suggests that the presently verifiable maximum TL estimates of O. megalodon (i.e. scientifically justifiable account based on museum specimens) are 14.2‒15.3 m TL, where individuals of O. megalodon exceeding 15 m TL must have been exceptionally rare. Nevertheless, O. megalodon can still be regarded as one of the largest carnivores, if not superpredators, that have ever lived on Earth.

also this video explaining it.   it starts at 2:00  because he talks about other stuff.

My name is Amy and I am a third-year student at Nottingham Trent University. I am studying for my BSc Wildlife Conservation degree, and I have created this questionnaire to determine public perceptions of birds of prey in Northern Ireland compared to England. The data received will be analysed and interpreted for my dissertation. All returned questionnaires will be completely anonymous, so please answer all questions honestly.

‘Birds of prey’ and ‘raptors’ may be used interchangeably throughout.

In total, there are 15 mandatory questions and 6 optional questions. However, if you do not want to answer a question, you do not need to.

It would be massively appreciated if you could fill this in. It only takes a few minutes of your time. Here is the link:
https://ntusurvey.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/rwwpy-v9aj-11

For those who watch (or used to watch) anime, which ones are your favorites?

Mine are (top 10):

• Naruto series (including Boruto)
• Berserk
• Bleach
• Claymore
• Death Note
• One Piece
• Soul Eater
• Dragon Ball series
• Night Raid 1931
• Cells at Work
  

Is there any one topic about foxes ? Let us start one... During my childhood, everytime the sly fox was exalted. Among European animals the fox had a place of pride.