There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
It's a cat for sure. Limb proportions match that of cats.
Camera angle is an issue here. From what I see, the mandible is a bit tall (perpendicular to length of body) and the top and bottom outlines are very parallel. P. atrox, P. fossilis, and P. spelaea had these traits. Jaguars also have similar traits. It is probably not modern lion just based on the mandible characterstics.
The top of the skull is a bit odd in terms of the curvature, but I've something similar in one P. spalaea in a small specimen published by Diedrich found is the Czech Republic. The concavity of the top half also removes the possibility of it being a leopard. P. gombaszoegensis was supposed to be long gone by the prescribed date as well.
I'm assuming the gender was determined based on the lower section of the torso. I can't do much on that with this picture, so we'll have to take the researcher's word.
I'm lead to believe this was a P. spelaea subspecies, possibly even a new species that branched of that lineage. Mediterranean island species were extremely small compared to the mainland source population, so cave lions would logically undergo the same dwarfism. Dwarfism is rather quick to achieve so such a form is easy to imagine evolutionarily. Look at Sunderban tiger populations and the Sunda populations. Some leopard subspecies are also extremely small.
New dwarf lion species discovered on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean
