The Cave Lion (Panthera spelaea and Panthera fossilis)

[peter]

I was aware of the previous posts, which were very interesting. I think both of you did a great job. It was a textbook example of cooperation. The conclusions no doubt will be of interest to those involved in extinct big cats. Keep it coming.

I'll deliver a number of tables in a few months. Some of these will be about lions. The tables are instrumental for the papers we want to publish. All of them will have individual entries and quite a few details. I will also post a number of photographs of skulls I consider typical for African and Indian lions. Indian lion skulls are different in that the occiput in male skulls is quite similar to those seen in skulls of Javan and Bali tigers. 

The problem with wild big cats is individual variation. You could be right regarding the canines of lions leading a more solitary way of life, but we need large samples to get to solid conclusions. The problem is only few museums have skulls of and extinct big cats. I'll do my best to find out a bit more. Reply