Etude de Panthera (Leo) spelaea (Goldfuss) nov. sub sp. (Mammalia, Carnivora, Felidae) du gisement pléistocène moyen des Abîmes de la Fage à Noailles (Corrèze)

Ballesio, Roland

doi:10.3406/mhnly.1975.1018

Cited by 16 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…In 1968, a discussion between the comparison of lion remains from the German/European "Pleistocene" and modern African lions resulted in the determination that the "Pleistocene" forms (it was generalized) must have been slightly larger (1/4) than modern ones [72], which is the truth only for the Middle Pleistocene (Saalian glacial) P. leo fossilis subspecies, indeed. In 1957, Late Pleistocene lions were then attributed to the modern lion subspecies, as P. leo spelaea, osteometrically based on new material from France [73]. In 1983, fishing boats recovered many Pleistocene mammal bones, including lion remains, on the seafloor of the North Sea [27].…”

Section: Cub Early Adult Sibblingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Palaeopopulations of Late Pleistocene Top Predators in Europe: Ice Age Spotted Hyenas and Steppe Lions in Battle and Competition about Prey

Diedrich¹

2014

Paleontology Journal

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Late Pleistocene spotted hyenaCrocuta crocuta spelaea(Goldfuss, 1823) and steppe lionPanthera leo spelaea(Goldfuss, 1810) were top predators in Central Europe. The fossil record (2.303 hyena/1.373 lion bones = ratio 3/1) from 106 cave and open air sites demonstrates comparable associations to modern African hyenas/lions resulting in competition about prey and territory. Cannibalism within extinct spotted hyenas is well documented, including two individual skeletons. Those hyenas produced bone accumulations at dens. Feeding specializations on different megamammal groups are demonstrated for Late Pleistocene hyenas whose prey partly overlaps (e.g., cave bears) with those of lions and wolves. At most fossil sites, 1–3% of the lion remains indicate scavenging of lions by hyenas. The larger Late Pleistocene felids focussed on cervids (reindeers specialization during the high glacial = LGM), on bovids (steppe bison/aurochs), and possibly on saiga antelope and on the cave bear, hunting deep in caves during their hibernations and targeting cubs. The cave bear feeding was the target of all three top predators (lions, hyenas, and wolves) in the Late Pleistocene boreal forests which caused deathly conflicts in caves between them, especially with lions/hyenas and herbivorous cave bears that have no modern analogue.

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Section: Cub Early Adult Sibblingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Palaeopopulations of Late Pleistocene Top Predators in Europe: Ice Age Spotted Hyenas and Steppe Lions in Battle and Competition about Prey

Diedrich¹

2014

Paleontology Journal

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“…Late Middle Pleistocene (MIS 8-6; 300-130 ka) P. spelaea: Wierzchowska (Marciszak et al 2019), Verzé (Bonifay 1971;Testu 2006), Igue-de-Rameaux (= P. l. intermedia, Argant and Brugal 2017), Paks (Hankó 2007), Abimes de la Fage (Ballesio 1975), Azé I-3 (Argant 1991), Solymar (Hankó 2007), Lherm (Filhol and Filhol 1871;Testu 2006), Romain-la-Roche (Argant 2010;Guérin et al 2010), Santenay (Argant 1991).…”

Section: Late Middle Pleistocenementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unfortunately, the taxonomy of the cave lion lineage still generates debate in the scientific community (Sabol 2011;Marciszak et al 2014). According to some authors, skull similarities with modern lions indicate that the Pleistocene forms are a large extinct subspecies of P. leo (Ballesio 1975(Ballesio , 1980Turner 1984). In contrast, others support the existence of two valid chronospecies: Panthera fossilis (von Reichenau, 1906) and Panthera spelaea (Goldfuss, 1810) (Sotnikova and Nikolskiy 2006;Sabol 2014;Barnett et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Middle Pleistocene Steppe Lion Remains from Grotte de la Carrière (Têt Valley, Eastern Pyrenees)

et al. 2022

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Late Pleistocene cave lions are one of the most iconic species of Northern Hemisphere Quaternary taphocoenoses. Despite their often-scarce record in cave environments, their ubiquitous distribution across Eurasia and North America assemblages attests to their position as top ice-age predators. Nevertheless, the origins of these former large felids, their distribution during the Middle Pleistocene, and their paleoecology during co-existence with the scimitar-toothed cat Homotherium remain debated. Here we describe for the first time an abundant collection of large-sized and stout felid remains from the recently discovered site of Grotte de la Carrière in Eastern Pyrenees, with an estimated age corresponding to MIS 9. Our results highlight the larger size of Middle Pleistocene lions compared to Late Pleistocene ones as well as a trend of decreasing in size, which has been previously stated by other authors. Grotte de la Carrière steppe lions have similar morphological and biometrical parameters to those of other samples from MIS 11–9, being larger and stouter than younger latest Middle Pleistocene-Late Pleistocene forms and slightly smaller than older MIS 15–12 forms.

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“…In addition to the original measurements, we used the data published by Terzea (1965), Samson and Kovacs (1967), Dietrich (1968), Hemmer and Schütt (1970), Vereshchagin (1971), Altuna (1972Altuna ( , 1981, Hemmer (1974Hemmer ( , 2001, Ballesio (1975Ballesio ( , 1980, Poulianos (1977, 1981), Schütt and Hemmer (1978), Riedel (1982), Argant (1988Argant ( , 1991Argant ( , 2010, Dufour (1989), Groiß (1992Groiß ( , 2002, Gross (1992), Turner (1999), Gužvica (1998), Kleczko (1999), Garciá Garciá (2003), Castaños (2005), Bona (2006), Testu (2006), Argant et al (2007), Hankó (2007, Ovodov and Tarasov (2009), Baryshnikov and Tsoukala (2010), Lewis et al (2010), Baryshnikov (2011Baryshnikov ( , 2016, Hemmer and Keller (2011), Sabol (2011a, Sotnikova and Foronova (2014), Argant and Brugal (2017), Pacher (2018) and Sabol et al (2018).…”

Section: Morphometric Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The three subspecies of the cave lion differ in size and several morphological features. As compared to P. s. fossilis, P. s. spelaea possesses: larger incisors; more flattened and narrower canines; narrower P3 with shorter and higher paracone, more reduced protocone and metastyle and weaker distal cingulum; narrower P4 with shorter protocone, smaller and lower parastyle, and paracone shorter than metastyle; narrower p3 with shorter and lower protoconid; shorter and narrower p4 with longer and lower protoconid; more elongated and narrower m1, which is longer than p4 and has higher and longer protoconid and weaker or absent median lingual bulge (Kurtén 1960;Dietrich 1968;Hemmer and Schütt 1970;Ballesio 1975;Schütt and Hemmer 1978;Argant 1988Argant , 1991Groiss 1992Groiss , 2002Gužvica 1998;Baryshnikov and Boeskorov 2001;Hemmer 2003Hemmer , 2004Bona 2006;Sotnikova and Nikolskiy 2006;Argant et al 2007;Hankó 2007;Barycka 2008;Baryshnikov and Tsoukala 2010;Bona and Sardella 2012;Sabol 2014;Sotnikova and Foronova 2014;Marciszak et al 2014, Prat-Vericat et al 2022. According to Argant and Brugal (2017), P. s. intermedia is smaller than P. s. fossilis and has: less massive muscle attachments; a shorter and triangular-shaped mandibular ramus with shallower and shorter masseteric fossa; narrower canines; narrower P4 with almost straight buccal margins; narrower m1 with less developed median bulge; and more gracile metapodials and calcaneus.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Quaternary lions of Ukraine and a trend of decreasing size in Panthera spelaea

et al. 2022

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The fossil record of the cave lion, Panthera spelaea, suggests a gradual decrease in body size, the process peaking just before the extinction of the species at the end of the Late Pleistocene. Such an evolutionary trend appears rather unusual for a large felid species and requires further investigation. This study reviews the cave lions of Ukraine, whose fossils are known from 46 localities dated from 800 kyr to 18–17 kyr ago, with a special emphasis on size changes through time. We describe several important finds including those of Panthera spelaea fossilis from Sambir, Panthera spelaea ssp. from Bilykh Stin Cave and Panthera spelaea spelaea from Kryshtaleva Cave. We make subspecific identifications of specimens from the region and focus on their size characteristics. Our analysis of Ukrainian cave lions agrees with the temporal trend of decreasing size, particularly accelerating during MIS 2, as exemplified by the extremely small female skull from Kryshtaleva Cave. We provide a direct AMS date for this specimen (22.0–21.5 cal kyr BP), which suggests that the Kryshtaleva lioness must have belonged to a Panthera spelaea spelaea population forced south by the spreading ice sheet. We discuss some palaeoecological aspects of the evolutionary history and eventual extinction of the cave lion. Finally, we review the subfossil records of the extant lion Panthera leo known from several Ukrainian sites archaeologically dated to 6.4–2.0 kyr BP. These finds most probably represent the Persian lion Panthera leo persica.

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Etude de Panthera (Leo) spelaea (Goldfuss) nov. sub sp. (Mammalia, Carnivora, Felidae) du gisement pléistocène moyen des Abîmes de la Fage à Noailles (Corrèze)

Cited by 16 publications

References 0 publications

Palaeopopulations of Late Pleistocene Top Predators in Europe: Ice Age Spotted Hyenas and Steppe Lions in Battle and Competition about Prey

Palaeopopulations of Late Pleistocene Top Predators in Europe: Ice Age Spotted Hyenas and Steppe Lions in Battle and Competition about Prey

Middle Pleistocene Steppe Lion Remains from Grotte de la Carrière (Têt Valley, Eastern Pyrenees)

The Quaternary lions of Ukraine and a trend of decreasing size in Panthera spelaea

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