The Cave Lion (Panthera spelaea and Panthera fossilis)

[GuateGojira]

(11-04-2018, 08:08 AM)GuateGojira Wrote: The method used by Sorkin (2008) is the same formula but using only the largest specimens (commonly not related between each other): If we use the maximum figures for modern lion in scientific records, which is a skull of 401 mm and a weight of 250 kg, will produce a mass of 441.5 kg; if we use the maximum in hunting records, which is 419 mm skull and a weight of 272 kg, will produce a mass of 421.1 kg; if we use average for South Africa lions, which is 380 mm skull and weigh of 190 kg, the mass will be 394.3 kg; finally if we use the average of East African lion, which is 363 mm skull and 175 kg, will produce a mass of 416.6 kg. The average of all figures is 418.4 kg, which is a real giant amoung the great cats and probably the largest Felidae ever!

Just for fun, I calculated the weight of the Panthera spelaea specimen Coll. Nr NKM-00664 which is a skull of 451 mm from the San River, and that according with Marciszak et al. (2014) it is the largest Panthera spelaea specimen found at the moment, and the forth largest skull of the Eurasian great cats. Using the the maximum figures for modern lion in scientific records, which is a skull of 401 mm and a weight of 250 kg, will produce a mass of 355.7 kg; if we use the maximum in hunting records, which is 419 mm skull and a weight of 272 kg, will produce a mass of 339.2 kg; if we use average for South Africa lions, which is 380 mm skull and weigh of 190 kg, the mass will be 317.6 kg; finally if we use the average of East African lion, which is 363 mm skull and 175 kg, will produce a mass of 335.6 kg. The average of all figures is 337.0 kg.

Now let's calculate the weight for the largest Panthera atrox skull Univ. Calif 14001 with a greatest length of 467.5 mm. Using the the maximum figures for modern lion in scientific records, which is a skull of 401 mm and a weight of 250 kg, will produce a mass of 396.1 kg; if we use the maximum in hunting records, which is 419 mm skull and a weight of 272 kg, will produce a mass of 377.8 kg; if we use average for South Africa lions, which is 380 mm skull and weigh of 190 kg, the mass will be 353.8 kg; finally if we use the average of East African lion, which is 363 mm skull and 175 kg, will produce a mass of 373.8 kg. The average of all figures is 375.4 kg.

Now, how reliable are these averages that I propouse? Well, when I do it to the Panthera atrox skull 2900-3 from Rancho La Brea with a greatest skull length of 458 mm, I obteined a weight of 353 kg (range from 332.7 - 372.5). The figure obteined by Christiansen & Harris (2009) for this particular large specimen was of 351 kg, so I almost hit the nail!  

So I think that even with this raw and maybe "imperfect" method, the results seems reliable and suggest that, based in the largest skulls available from large samples, the heaviest weights for the cave "lions" specimens are 337 kg for Panthera spelaea, 375.4 kg for Panthera atrox and 418.4 kg for Panthera fossilis. 

Using the same equation, but with femurs and weights of tigers -specimens and weights related, I got a weight of 368 kg for the large femur of 480 mm of Panthera tigris soloensis, however take in count that femur length "only" is not a very good predictor of weight, based in the Smilodons from Christiansen & Harris (2005), but is the best that I can do for the moment. Reply