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.
11-18-2018, 08:45 AM( This post was last modified: 12-06-2018, 09:24 AM by Sanju )
(11-17-2018, 10:32 PM)GuateGojira Wrote: The case of the Sri Lanka "lion" and the Sri Lanka "tiger" is very problematic. The description of Deraniyagala is incredible poor, based in only few canines and at this moment, no other analysis has been done in those fossils. Is important to remember that he also described a "tiger subspecies" in Sudan as Panthera tigris sudanensis (sic!) based in a single skin that was obviously imported from the Caspian region and was critizised by his lazy investigation regarding the specimen (Mazák, 1983-2013).
Regarding the "tiger" fossils, the anaylisis made with the few metapodials used only a single leopard specimen for comparison, and been this the only native great cat of the island, it should take more specimens for a wider analysis. It seems like if the authors tried to "prove" that tigers lived in the area. However, it is interesting that the first fossils from true tigers in India are from less than 12,000 years ago, which suggest a much latter arrival of the tiger in the Indian subcontinent, which make sense as the Indian region was dry and not a good tiger habitat but perfect for lions, which arrived India earlier.
There is a posibility for the existence of lions in Sri Lanka (together with leopards), but I highly doubt that tigers did lived in the subcontinent before the Holocene. DNA analysis should be made to settle the issue, after all, morphological analysis per se had demostrate that is some cases are not good enough like the case of the cave "lions" from Eurasia and America.
#1 post I already mentioned that tigris sudenesis is false and in reality, it is imported and natural existence is impossible.
Coming to tiger. Based on fossils tiger is found 12000 yo but according to palaeontologists, the tiger arrived India 20000 to 12000 yo with the climate and habitat favour. Before 25000 yrs ago India which resembled Africa and part of Gondwana is grassland region favoured ecosystem to cheetah, lion and humans besides leopard. From nearly at 25 to 30 kya India which already in Eurasian plate the southeast Asian forest ecosystems for the first time colonised the subcontinent allowing their evolved forest ecosystem apex predator which is geographically restricted then coz of climate and habitat around 20 kya before or after tiger arrived the subcontinent started evolved acc to fauna and environmental factors as Bengal tiger.
The primitive leo which first evolved in Africa before
0.2 mya arrived subcontinent 1,00,000 to 60000 years ago as India is the copy of Africa then. Humans arrived then. It might have subspecies level differentiated and coexisted with cheetah and also as usual leopard. Sri Lanka is still connected with large land mass bridge and part of subcontinent after the ice age. Lion reached there before humans and cheetah and leopard too. Due to replacing forests and humans arrival nearly 36000 yo. Both of them go extinct. Tiger came to India nearly 20 kya and it expanded quickly all over subcontinent including its part (then) Lanka. It might have differentiated to subspecies before extinction coz of geographical isolation.
The primitive leo and it's subspecies Sri Lanka lion disappeared due to replacing ecosystems naturally and by humans and hunting of its game and lion directly, same goes to the cheetah. Tiger came after 20 kya to Lanka got extinct coz of human competition for prey and hunting. The versatile survival cat leopard can't be affected by any factor whether human or nature as it can be fit in most ecosystems and resistible to human influences.
Second lion expansion occurred between 25000 to 10000 yrs ago during the colonisation of forest habitats to India. It covered all the subcontinent except total southern India below the Narmada. Asiatic lion fossils are found in Bengal. Asiatic lion is adapted to forest habitats in the due course of time but not enough time for adaptation to full dense forest ranges like rainforest and ghats of the south. But well stabilised in all corners of north India. They Coexisted before humans separated and killed them. Sadly.
Sri-Lanka(n)/Ceylon Lion, Ceylon (Bengal) Tiger & Ceylon (Asiatic) Cheetah
