Panthera spelaea
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Panthera leo spelaea Temporal range: to Early Holocene, 0.1–0.011 Ma |
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| Skeleton in Natural History Museum, Vienna | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Genus: | Panthera |
| Species: | P. leo |
| Subspecies: | P. l. spelaea |
| Trinomial name | |
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Panthera leo spelaea Goldfuss, 1810 |
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| Red indicates the maximal range of Panthera spelaea, blue Panthera atrox, and green Panthera leo. | |
| Synonyms | |
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Panthera leo vereshchagini Baryshnikov & Boeskorov, 2001 |
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Panthera leo vereshchagini Baryshnikov & Boeskorov, 2001
Panthera leo spelaea or Panthera spelaea is a fossil cat belonging to the genus Panthera, which was described by the German paleontologist Georg August Goldfuss in 1810 under the scientific name Felis spelaea. The first fossil lion skull was excavated in a cave in southern Germany. It probably dates to the Würm glaciation.
The spelaea lion probably evolved in Europe after the third Cromerian interglacial stage, less than 600,000 years ago. Phylogenetic analysis of fossil bone samples revealed that it was highly distinct and genetically isolated from the modern lion occurring in Africa and Asia. It became extinct about 13,000 years ago. The oldest known spelaea lion bone fragments were excavated in Yakutia and radiocarbon dated at least 62,400 years old. Considerable morphological differences and data support the taxonomic recognition of the spelaea lion as distinct species.
Several authors regarded the spelaea cave lion as a subspecies of the modern lion, Panthera leo spelaea.
Results of morphological studies indicate that it is distinct in cranial and dental anatomy to justify specific status, namely Panthera spelaea. Results of phylogenetic studies support this assessment.
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