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Pleistocene Big Cats
The Cave Lion (Panthera spelaea and Panthera fossilis)
The Cave Lion (Panthera spelaea and Panthera fossilis)
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The Cave Lion (Panthera spelaea and Panthera fossilis)
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 The Cave lion (Panthera fossilis and Panthera spelaea)
 *This image is copyright of its original author Phylogeny: The cave lion's place as a true lion has long been debated. The most recent genetic analysis places the lineages as its own unique species, which is however, part of the lion clade.  *This image is copyright of its original author Within the lineage, it is uncertain whether there were two species of cave lion or just a single, evolving lineage. Some authorities classify Panthera fossilis and Panthera spelaea as distinct species (Sabol 2011; Sotnikova and Foronova 2014), while other assert a chronological, evolutionary relationship (Marciszak et al. 2014) Temporal range: The earliest occurrence of the more ancient cave lion, Panthera (spelaea?) fossilis have been dated to 700 kya. However, a more recent genetic study dates at least Panthera spelaea stem group to an earlier date of emergence, around 1.89 million years ago (Barnett et al. 2016). Physical Range: The entire upper half was essentially the domain of this large predator.  *This image is copyright of its original author From Ersmark et al. (2015). Appearance: Scientists have been fortunate enough to find preserve hairs of the species. Their coat was thick and of a red to brown hue.  *This image is copyright of its original author From Chernova et al. (2016)  *This image is copyright of its original author Males likely lacked the manes of the modern lion (Panthera leo) present today based on Pleistocene cave art.  *This image is copyright of its original author Habitat: The cave lions have been restricted to open habitats for essentially the entirety of their existence (Meloro et al. 2013).  *This image is copyright of its original author Size: The largest of known cave lions have bones that are up to 20% larger, and often even more robust, than that of an average modern lion. Such would indicate that the largest of cave lions exceeded 300 kg. Fossils of note are a 470 mm from Mladec, Czech Republic (Panthera spelaea), a 465 mm ulna from Mosbach 2, Germany (Pantherae fossilis), a c. 192 mm metatarsal 3 from Chateau, France (Panthera fossilis), c. 475 mm skull from the Urals, Eastern Russia (Panthera spelaea), and a 485 mm skull from Chateau, France (Panthera fossilis). Diet: Bocherens et al. (2011) found cave lions to be very of reindeer (Rangifer rangifer). Some lions may have specialized in taking down young cave bears as well.  *This image is copyright of its original author Sociality: A famous cave painting from France possibly shows a group of cave lions.  *This image is copyright of its original author However, a dietary study has suggested that cave lions were likely solitary due to prey preferences. Library
Here a bibliography and links (where applicable) of all sources regarding the cave lion will be posted. Barnett R., Mendoza MZ., Soares AR., Ho S., Zazula G., Yamaguchi N., Shapiro B., Kirillova I., Larson G., Gilbert M. 2016. Mitogenomics of the Extinct Cave Lion, Panthera spelaea (Goldfuss, 1810), Resolve its Position within the Panthera Cats. Open Quaternary 2. DOI: 10.5334/oq.24. Baryshnikov, Gennady, and Gennady Boeskorov. The Pleistocene cave lion, Panthera spelaea (Carnivora, Felidae) from Yakutia, Russia. Cranium 18.1 (2001): 7-24. Baryshnikov GF., Tsoukala E. 2010. New analysis of the Pleistocene carnivores from Petralona Cave (Macedonia, Greece) based on the Collection of the Thessaloniki Aristotle University. Geobios 43:389–402. DOI: 10.1016/j.geobios.2010.01.003. Bocherens H., Drucker DG., Bonjean D., Bridault A., Conard NJ., Cupillard C., Germonpré M., Höneisen M., Münzel SC., Napierala H., Patou-Mathis M., Stephan E., Uerpmann H-P., Ziegler R. 2011. Isotopic evidence for dietary ecology of cave lion (Panthera spelaea) in North-Western Europe: Prey choice, competition and implications for extinction. Quaternary International 245:249–261. DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2011.02.023. Burger J., Rosendahl W., Loreille O., Hemmer H., Eriksson T., Götherström A., Hiller J., Collins MJ., Wess T., Alt KW. 2004. Molecular phylogeny of the extinct cave lion Panthera leo spelaea. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 30:841–849. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2003.07.020. Chernova OF., Kirillova IV., Shapiro B., Shidlovskiy FK., Soares AER., Levchenko VA., Bertuch F. 2016. Morphological and genetic identification and isotopic study of the hair of a cave lion (Panthera spelaea Goldfuss, 1810) from the Malyi Anyui River (Chukotka, Russia). Quaternary Science Reviews 142:61–73. DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.04.018. Dawkins, William Boyd, W. Ayshford Sanford, and Sidney Hugh Reynolds. A monograph of the British Pleistocene Mammalia. Vol. 1. Palaeontographical Society, 1872. Diedrich CG. 2011. Late Pleistocene Panthera leo spelaea (Goldfuss, 1810) skeletons from the Czech Republic (central Europe); their pathological cranial features and injuries resulting from intraspecific fights, conflicts with hyenas, and attacks on cave bears. Bulletin of Geosciences:817–840. DOI: 10.3140/bull.geosci.1263. Ersmark E., Orlando L., Sandoval-Castellanos E., Barnes I., Barnett R., Stuart A., Lister A., Dalén L. 2015. Population Demography and Genetic Diversity in the Pleistocene Cave Lion. Open Quaternary 1. DOI: 10.5334/oq.aa. Fabio, Bona (2006). Systematic position of a complete lion-like cat skull from the Eemian ossiferous rubble near Zandobbio (Bergamo, North Italy). Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia 112(1):157-166. Guzvica, G (1998). Panthera spelaea (Goldfuss 1810) from north-western Croatia. Geol. Croat. 51(1): 7-14. Hankó E, Korsós Z (2007). A cladistic analysis of the teeth and mandible morphological characters of Pleistocene lions from Hungary. Állattani Közlemének 92, 39–51. Marciszak A., Schouwenburg C., Darga R. 2014. Decreasing size process in the cave (Pleistocene) lion Panthera spelaea (Goldfuss, 1810) evolution – A review. Quaternary International 339–340:245–257. DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2013.10.008. Marciszak A., Stefaniak K. 2010. Two forms of cave lion: Middle Pleistocene Panthera spelaea fossilis Reichenau, 1906 and Upper Pleistocene Panthera spelaea spelaea Goldfuss, 1810 from the Bísnik Cave, Poland. Neues Jahrbuch fr Geologie und Palontologie - Abhandlungen 258:339–351. DOI: 10.1127/0077-7749/2010/0117. von Reichenau, W., 1906. Beiträge zur näheren Kenntnis der Carnivoren aus den Sanden von Mauer und Mosbach. Abhandlungen der Großherzoglichen Hessischen Geologischen Landesanstalt zu Darmstadt 4, 1e125. Sabol M (2011a). A record of pleistocene lion-like felids in the territory of Slovakia. Quaternaire, Hors-série, (4), p. 215-228. Sabol M (2011b). Masters of the lost word: a hypothetical look at the temporal and spatial distribution of lion-like felids. Quaternaire, Hors-serie 4, 229–36. Sabol M (2014). PANTHERA FOSSILIS (REICHENAU, 1906) (FELIDAE, CARNIVORA) FROM ZA HÁJOVNOU CAVE (MORAVIA, THE CZECH REPUBLIC): A FOSSIL RECORD FROM 1987–2007. Historia Naturalis 40, 59-70. Sotnikova MV., Foronova IV. 2014. First Asian record of Panthera (Leo) fossilis (Mammalia, Carnivora, Felidae) in the Early Pleistocene of Western Siberia, Russia. Integrative Zoology 9:517–530. DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12082. Sotnikova M., Nikolskiy P. 2006. Systematic position of the cave lion Panthera spelaea (Goldfuss) based on cranial and dental characters. Quaternary International 142–143:218–228. DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2005.03.019. Stuart AJ., Lister AM. 2011. Extinction chronology of the cave lion Panthera spelaea. Quaternary Science Reviews 30:2329–2340. DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.04.02 Teschler-Nicola M. (ed.) 2006. Early Modern Humans at the Moravian Gate. Vienna: Springer Vienna. Anatomical Data Bank
Here, records of cave lion fossils will be posted as either photographs, plain text, or table images.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author From Sabol (2014). See library post.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Table of Contents of Discussion
Here will be a list indexing interesting discussions that take place within this thread. Page and post numbers will be provided. Simply click on the item to be taken to the post.Panthera shawi, the early "lion" - p. 2, Post #17 Extinct lion cubs found in Siberia are up to 55,000 years old - latest test results reveal - p. 2, Post #30 Another frozen cave lion cub - p. 6, Post #78 The giant Natodomeri lion - p. 6, Post #79
Further reservations for future use.
The thread is now opened. Please PM if you any feedback on the format. Specific cave lion discussion should be posted in this thread rather than as individual threads. 
Fantastic @tigerluver. I will focus in the genetic studies, in order to show how our knowledge about this species has evolved with time.
 (09-10-2016, 07:12 AM)GuateGojira Wrote: Fantastic @tigerluver. I will focus in the genetic studies, in order to show how our knowledge about this species has evolved with time. The size of this species followed a bell curve pattern. I think those giant specimens mostly concentrated in the period between 100 KYA to 40 KYA. Maybe the Amur tigers could have been followed this trend as well.
Knowing the cave lion's fur, its habitat, and its favorite dish, I rendered the new image you see in the original post. What do you folks think about it?
Panthera spelaea spelaea is the nominated subspecies, while the other subspecies should be Panthera spelaea vereshchagini.
I think the genetic chart in the first post does show the divergent timeline between the two Cave lion subspecies.
I often mention Sabol (2011) when bringing up the idea of 3 waves of lion migration. Well Dr. Sabol recently shared the paper on research, please check out the library post.
So the combination of Sotnikova and Foronova (2014), Hanko and Corsos (2007), and Sabol (2011) brings about the 3 wave migration theory of the lion clad. Sotnikova and Foronova (2014) and Hanko and Corsos (2007) state that based on cranial characteristics, P. fossilis and P. spelaea were different species. Sabol (2011) agrees with the speciation theory, but in a different manner. Sabol (2011) theorizes that a mountain population of P. fossilis evolved into P. spelaea and was then restricted to the mountains while the original P. fossilis remnant population stayed on the lowlands. With this theory, P. fossilis eventually disappeared and was replaced by the new species that evolved from a mountain-dwelling population of it millennia earlier. (09-11-2016, 08:11 AM)tigerluver Wrote: I often mention Sabol (2011) when bringing up the idea of 3 waves of lion migration. Well Dr. Sabol recently shared the paper on research, please check out the library post. Based on the combination of the old theory and the new theory, it seems that Panthera spelaea belonged to the first wave of migration, and Panthera fossilis is now deemed as the younger/later one.
@GrizzlyClaws, that would be a very plausible option. If the new Barnett et al. (2016) had gotten some P. fossilis DNA, the puzzle would have likely be complete.
Barnett et al. (2016) does state that "it would appear that P. fossilis must be already on the branch leading towards P. spelaea rather than close to the split." So the would imply that P. fossilis evolved from P. spelaea, although the study does not have any evidence to back that up as P. fossilis was not analyzed. Regardless, this theory would be the reverse of what has long been proposed. While it is possible that Sabol's theory can just be inverted to have P. fossilis result from a select P. spelaea population, it is odd that the fossil record doesn't agree with such. |
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