The Cave Lion (Panthera spelaea and Panthera fossilis)

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(11-14-2017, 11:29 AM)GrizzlyClaws Wrote: @tigerluver

What is your own interpretation about the size of the giant Pleistocene African lions?

BTW, it seems they were morphologically closer to the northern branch of Panthera leo, maybe the northern branch has simply preserved more archaic traits compared to the southern branch.

African lions were bigger back then? Didn't know that. I know for sure that ancient Asian lions were bigger before.

The northern branch of lions had particularly larger manes than southern counterparts, but I don't know if the Barbary/Asian lions are significantly (or were) ever bigger than the African lions on average. 

Northern lions also tend to have a slightly more rounded skull and smoother mandibular edges (much like tigers) compared to mainland African lions, and some of these Pleistocene African lions had those same features. 

Is there a thread which goes further into the other differences between Barbary and Sub-Saharan lions? Reply