Skulls, Skeletons, Canines & Claws

[GrizzlyClaws]

Quote:@tigerluver 

I keep in tabs with a Siberian site but the fossils preserve a darker and duller brown as compared to these northeast China fossils.

Maybe the peatlands from China contain more impurities, hence its fossils generally got less darker coloration.

Since the soil of Siberia is generally muddier in comparison, thus it could contain less harder substances, and therefore the peatlands over there are also more fertile.

I can imagine that those extremely dark fossils may be derived from the Siberian peatlands, and almost belonged to the Cave lions.

In contrast, the giant skull from Szechuan and the giant "Manchurian" mandible both got lighter hue, and it matches more with the geological conditions in China.

Nevertheless, Manchuria generally got younger peatlands than Siberia, but due it shares a similar geographical proximity, the peat-stained fossils from Manchuria often also got darker coloration. Since the northeastern part of China probably got the muddiest soil in the region.

That's why I have often suspected that the so-called "Manchurian" mandible's true locality was also from China proper, since it got almost the same coloration pattern as the giant skull from Szechuan.

The two specimens probably lived in a similar region, both most likely got a skull over 45 cm. And those giant tigers that lived in China proper during the Pleistocene-Holocene transitional period probably shared a genetic affiliation with the Manchurian branch of the Amur tiger. Reply