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Pleistocene Big Cats
American Lion (Panthera atrox)
American Lion (Panthera atrox)
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American Lion (Panthera atrox)
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    *This image is copyright of its original author Panthera atrox VS Smilodon fatalis  *This image is copyright of its original author
 *This image is copyright of its original author The modern panthera leo(left) and Panthera atrox(right) in comparison 
That is a very impressive size difference. Atrox must have been quite a beast.
@
About #34: Yes, the size difference is amazing ! Two sources about the pantera atrox's size: 1) The lions of Tsavo by Bruce D. Patterson:  *This image is copyright of its original author 2)The big cats by Nancy A. Neff:  *This image is copyright of its original author
(10-23-2018, 04:33 PM)Spalea Wrote: @The Panthera atrox average weight could up to 250—270kg, while the big population could up to 300kg even more，it's a supersize carnivore，the only shortage in body hardware may just the canines not large like the whole body size, however, Atrox had the most powerful bite in feline which the bite force could over 1800 pounds, it means nearly more twice than modern lion and tiger.  *This image is copyright of its original author
 *This image is copyright of its original author @Spalea , @
Smilodon-Rex: The Panthera atrox average weight could up to 250—270kg, while the big population could up to 300kg even more，it's a supersize carnivore，the only shortage in body hardware may just the canines not large like the whole body size, however, Atrox had the most powerful bite in feline which the bite force could over 1800 pounds, it means nearly more twice than modern lion and tiger.
AND perhaps the smartest of all cats too. Wow! (10-24-2018, 06:40 PM)brotherbear Wrote: Smilodon-Rex: The Panthera atrox average weight could up to 250—270kg, while the big population could up to 300kg even more，it's a supersize carnivore，the only shortage in body hardware may just the canines not large like the whole body size, however, Atrox had the most powerful bite in feline which the bite force could over 1800 pounds, it means nearly more twice than modern lion and tiger.It's said that because of the high IQ, American lions could successfully avoiding natural trap such as tar pits in general
I would suppose that right after the mass extinction of most of the large herbivores, the remaining bison were at first too scattered and few for atrox to make it. It seems a shame for such a well-equipped predator to go extinct. What an incredible big cat!
I also believe that the pantera Atrox, the American lion, was indeed a very performing feline. It's a fact that very few atrox's bones have been found in natural traps as Tar pits, thus perhaps it was able to avoid them. But unlucky for this felid, it will have not survived climatic change involving growing big preys scarcity and the men invasion. As Brotherbear said, the only one big ungulates having survived were the elks and the American buffalos. As for the natural predators wolves and grizzly bears.
Too bad ! (10-24-2018, 07:05 PM)brotherbear Wrote: I would suppose that right after the mass extinction of most of the large herbivores, the remaining bison were at first too scattered and few for atrox to make it. It seems a shame for such a well-equipped predator to go extinct. What an incredible big cat!As a matter of fact, American lion may be possible to survive in human civilization period, this large feline still existed at the beginning of the Holocene, unfortunately because of the Homo species invaded the new continent, American lion gone to the extinction finally, the last American lion's record may left in the great lakes about 8000 years ago  (10-23-2018, 04:33 PM)Spalea Wrote: Two sources about the pantera atrox's size: About the book of Dr Patterson: That book was made in 2004 (is an excelent one, byt he way), and those mass estimations of 340 - 522 kg came from the calculations made by Dr Anyonge in 1993. These weights are known to be gross exagerations and Dr Christiansen prove it very good in his document of 2005 (about the body mass of Smilodon); sadly in this days some documents still quote those erroneous figures. The best calculations on this animal estimate a maximum weight of c.360 kg, which make sense if we take in count that the heaviest modern tigers and lions captured/hunted in the wild had a maximum weight of 250-260 kg, "empty belly", not fat and not cattle-eaters. Nancy A. Neff made a good estimation of the maximum total length for the largest Panthera atrox. The head-body length estimated for the largest specimen is of 250 cm (straigh or along the curves? it not known). So depending of the length of the tail, which is very variable even in modern great cats, a lenght of 360 cm is not out of question. |
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