Asiatic Lion - Data, Pictures & Videos

[Sanju]

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://www.alamy.de/fotos-bilder/panthe...opaea.html

Panthera leo, the modern lion, included a bewildering array of subspecies in early historical times.

Panthera leo europea (or tartairica/leo) males approached 400 pounds (181 kg) sometimes, with females—as always in the big cat family—being slightly smaller. They also shared their susceptibility to encroachment and capture by representatives of early European "civilization." For example, European lions featured in the gruesome arena combat games of ancient Rome.

https://www.thoughtco.com/recently-extin...ns-1092148

These big cats inhabited a broad swath of western, central and eastern Europe, ranging from the Iberian peninsula to as far east as Greece and the Caucasus. The European Lion probably descended from the same common ancestor as the Asiatic Lion, Panthera leo persica, the still-extant remnants of which can still be found in modern India.

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Skeleton of a European Lion found in Spain. Juan Carlos Munoz / Getty Images

The European Lion is also a modern lion descended from the same common ancestor as the Asiatic Lion, Panthera leo persica, during the most recent lion migration wave out of Africa the still-extant remnants of which can still be found in modern India.

https://www.thoughtco.com/european-lion-1093081

Cultural References :

Tantalizingly, the European Lion is referenced numerous times in classical literature; the Persian king Xerxes reportedly encountered some specimens when he invaded Macedonia in the 5th century B.C.E, and this big cat was almost certainly used by the Romans in gladiatorial combat or to dispose of unfortunate Christians in the first and second centuries A.D.

Like other Panthera leo subspecies, the European Lion was hunted to extinction by humans, either for sport or to protect villages and farmland, and disappeared off the face of the earth about 1,000 years ago.

The European Lion should not be confused with the Cave Lion, Panthera spelaea or fossilis or vereschagini or atrox, which survived in Europe and Asia up to the cusp of the last Ice Age and went extinct around 12,400 years ago..

Historical Epoch

28,000 to 1000 years ago (Late Pleistocene to Modern Holocene)

Size and Weight

Up to four feet high at the shoulder and 400 pounds

Distinguishing Characteristics

Large size; lack of manes in females

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Ancient Greek Roman Pebble Floor Mosaic of Lion Hunt & Hunter c4th BC Pella Macedonia Greece

https://www.alamy.com/ancient-greek-roma...23470.html

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

After the extinction of cave lion, Asiatic-African lions colonized Europe about 25,000 years ago. They may be considered a distinct subspecies of lion, Panthera leo europaea, and were completely unrelated to the cave lions but likely filled a similar niche until their expiration in Europe in the 10th century due to excessive hunting and over-exploitation.

https://www.openquaternary.com/article/10.5334/oq.aa/
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/...10.00181.x Reply