Panthera leo spelaea

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Panthera leo spelaea
Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene–Late Pleistocene
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250px
Skeleton in Vienna
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammal
Order:
Carnivora
Family:
Felidae
Genus:
Panthera
Species:
P. leo[note 1]
Subspecies:
†P. l. spelaea
Trinomial name
Panthera leo spelaea
Goldfuss, 1810
Synonyms
  • Panthera leo vereshchagini Baryshnikov & Boeskorov, 2001

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Panthera leo spelaea or P. spelaea,[note 1] commonly known as the European or Eurasian cave lion, is an extinct subspecies of lion. It is known from fossils and many examples of prehistoric art.

Classifications

File:Lascaux-diverticule-félins.jpg
Cave lions, Chamber of Felines, Lascaux caves

The cave lion is sometimes considered a species in its own right, under the name Panthera spelaea,[2] and at least one authority, basing his conclusion on a comparison of skull shapes, considers the cave lion to be more closely related to the tiger, which would result in the formal name Panthera tigris spelaea.[3] However, recent genetic research shows that among extant felids it was most closely related to the modern lion[4][5] and that it formed a single population with the Beringian cave lion,[5] which has been sometimes considered to represent a distinct form. Therefore, the cave lion ranged from Europe to Alaska over the Bering land bridge until the late Pleistocene. However, it is still not clear whether it should be considered a subspecies of the lion or rather a closely related species.[5][note 1]

Analysis of skulls and mandibles of a lion that inhabited Yakutia (Russia), Alaska (USA), and the Yukon Territory (Canada) during the Pleistocene epoch suggested that it was a new subspecies different from the other prehistoric lions, Panthera leo vereshchagini, known as the East Siberian- or Beringian cave lion.[6] It differed from Panthera leo spelaea by its larger size and from the American lion (Panthera leo atrox) by its smaller size and by skull proportions.[6][7] However, recent genetic research, using ancient DNA from Beringian lions found no evidence for separating Panthera leo vereshchagini from the European cave lion; indeed, DNA signatures from lions from Europe and Alaska were indistinguishable, suggesting one large panmictic population.[1]

Evolution

File:Panthera leo spelaea MHNT.PAL.2009.0.1 Montmaurin Pléistocène.jpg
Skull - MHNT

The cave lion (Panthera leo spelea) evolved from the earlier Panthera leo fossilis, which first appeared in Europe about 700,000 years ago. Genetic evidence indicates this lineage was isolated from extant lions after its dispersal to Europe.[4] P. l. spelaea lived from 370,000 to 10,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene epoch. Apparently, it became extinct about 12,500 14
C years ago,[5] as the Würm glaciation receded.

Mitochondrial DNA sequence data from fossil remains show the American lion (P. l. atrox) represents a sister lineage to P. l. spelaea, and likely arose when an early P. l. spelaea population became isolated south of the North American continental ice sheet about 0.34 Mya.[5]

Description

Replica of the cave lions in the Chauvet Cave, France

This subspecies was one of the largest lions. The skeleton of an adult male, which was found in 1985 near Siegsdorf (Germany), had a shoulder height of around Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). and a head-body length of Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). without the tail.[citation needed] This is similar to the size of a very large modern lion. The size of this male has been exceeded by other specimens of this subspecies. Therefore, this cat may have been around 8%-10% bigger than modern lions and smaller than the earlier cave lion subspecies Panthera leo fossilis or the relatively larger American lion (Panthera leo atrox).[8] The cave lion is known from Paleolithic cave paintings, ivory carvings, and clay figurines. These representations indicate cave lions had rounded, protruding ears, tufted tails, possibly faint tiger-like stripes, and at least some had a "ruff" or primitive mane around their necks, possibly indicating males. Other archaeological artifacts indicate they were featured in Paleolithic religious rituals.

Behaviour

Cave lion with a reindeer, by Heinrich Harder

These active carnivores probably preyed upon the large herbivorous animals of their time, including horses, deer, reindeer, bison and even injured old or young mammoths.[9] Some paintings of them in caves show several hunting together, which suggests the hunting strategy of contemporary lionesses. Isotopic analyses of bone collagen samples extracted from fossils suggest reindeer and cave bear cubs were prominent in the diets of northwestern European cave lions.[10][11] There was a suggestion of a shift in dietary preferences subsequent to the disappearance of the cave hyena.[11] The last cave lions seem to have focused on reindeer, up to the brink of local extinction or extirpation of both species.[11]

Small prey was usually brought down with a blow of the front paw and then held down with both front feet.[citation needed] The animal was finally killed by a powerful bite from the sharp teeth,[12] at the back of the neck, in the region of the throat and even in the chest. A cave lion usually could not run as fast as its prey, but could pounce on it from behind or run up next to it and bring it down with the paws. In this manner a running animal's balance could very easily be disturbed.[citation needed]

It was most likely the most common large predator (after the cave hyena) in plains ecosystems.[citation needed] Its extinction may have been related to the Quaternary extinction event, which wiped out most of the megafauna prey in those regions.[citation needed] Cave paintings and remains found in the refuse piles of ancient camp sites indicate they were hunted by early humans, which also may have contributed to their demise.[citation needed]

Range

Cave lions and other Ice Age fauna in northern Spain, by Mauricio Antón

Cave lions were widespread in parts of Europe, Asia, and northwestern North America, from Great Britain, Germany, and Spain [13] all the way across the Bering Strait to the Yukon Territory, and from Siberia to Turkistan.[14]

Habitat

The cave lion received its common name because large quantities of its remains are found in caves,[9] but it is doubtful whether they lived in them (one theory being that lion bones may have been collected there ex post facto by packrats that are obsessive hoarders of bright objects, even useless ones).[citation needed] It had a wide habitat tolerance, but probably preferred conifer forests and grasslands,[15] where medium-sized to large herbivores occurred. Fossil footprints of lions, which were found together with those of reindeer, demonstrate the lions once occurred even in subpolar climates. The presence of fully articulated adult cave lion skeletons, deep in cave bear dens, indicates these lions may have occasionally entered dens to prey on hibernating cave bears, with some dying in the attempt.[16]

Specimens

In October 2015 two frozen cave lion cubs, estimated to be 10,000 years old, were discovered in Yakutia, Siberia in permafrost.[17][18] Research on the specimens, named Uyan and Dina, indicated the cubs were likely barely a week old at the time of their deaths, as their baby teeth had not fully erupted. Further evidence shows the cubs were, like modern lions, hidden at a den site until they were old enough to join the pride. Researchers also believe that the cubs were trapped and killed by a landslide, and that without air, the cubs were preserved in such good condition. A second expedition to the site where the cubs were found is planned for 2016, in hopes of finding either the remains of a third cub or possibly the cubs' mother.[19]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The authors of the most recent genetic study, Barnett et al.,[1] classify the Eurasiabax dxghn cave lion as the subspecies P. l. spelaea. However, as of 2014, it is as commonly accorded full species status as P. spelaea in the scientific literature, according to Google Scholar (see talk page).

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Christiansen, Per (December 2008): "Phylogeny of the great cats (Felidae: Pantherinae), and the influence of fossil taxa and missing characters" Cladistics 24.6:977-992(16)
  3. ↑ Groiss, J. Th. (1996): "Der Höhlentiger Panthera tigris spelaea (Goldfuss)". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie 7 : 399–414.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Baryshnikov, G.F., Boeskorov, G., 2001. The Pleistocene cave lion, Panthera spelaea (Carnivora, Felidae) from Yakutia, Russia. Cranium 18, 7–24.
  8. ↑ W. v. Koenigswald: Lebendige Eiszeit. Theiss-Verlag, 2002. ISBN 3-8062-1734-3
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Arduini, P. & Teruzzi, G. 1993. The MacDonald encyclopedia of fossils. Little, Brown and Company, London. 320pp.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lessem, D. 1999. Dinosaurs to dodos. An encyclopedia of extinct animals. Scholastic, New York. 122pp.
  13. ↑ (Arduini & Teruzzi, 1993)
  14. ↑ 'Supersize' lions roamed Britain BBC News 1 April 2009
  15. ↑ Hublin, J.-J. 1984. The Hamlyn encyclopedia of prehistoric animals. Hamlyn, London. 318pp.
  16. ↑ 15TH INTERNATIONAL CAVE BEAR SYMPOSIUM SPIŠSKÁ NOVÁ VES, SLOVAKIA, 17th – 20th of September 2009
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ http://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/news/n0491-whiskers-still-bristling-after-more-than-10000-years-in-the-siberian-cold/

External links

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