Freak Felids - A Discussion of History's Largest Felines

[tigerluver]

The Cromerian/Mosbach Cave lion are the common names for P. fossilis. I guess it would be most accurate to say the 475 mm belong to the evolutionary transition of P. fossilis-spelaea, or a giant P. spelaea specimen. The cats living alone has evolutionary implications I will try to get into later.

The Smilodon puzzle is quite complex. Width estimates are exceeding 600 kg while length estimates sub 300 kg. 450 kg- 500 kg is probably a good range for the highest end. Nevertheless, I am working on a bone density study as we speak. Bone density is the ignored factor which explains the discrepancies between bone length and width and proportional heaviness. Hopefully by summer I'll work with the Smithsonian's fossil collections and get some bone mass data of Smilodon. If we can figure out how dense Smilodon's bones were, we can better assess which bone factor should be given more weight, length or width, and also which species would be proper for derivation of regression estimates. I probably sound a bit convuluted, I apologize. The bone density relationship is something very real but hard for me to articulate, but hopefully in time I'll find the best words. Reply