First record of the Eurasian jaguar in southern Asia and a review of dental differences between pantherine cats

Abstract

Felid material from the middle Early Pleistocene Haro River quarry, northern Pakistan, is described. Most of the material is referred to the Eurasian jaguar, Panthera gombaszogensis georgica, representing the first record of the jaguar in southern Asia. A systematic review of dental morphology of all living species of Pantherinae is made to provide a better background for studying the evolution of pantherine cats. A renewed dispersal scenario of the jaguar in Eurasia is provided. Panthera gombaszogensis georgica is suggested to be a distinct subspecies distributed in central, western and southern Asia during the Early Pleistocene, characterized by relatively small body size and slender dentition. The Eurasian jaguar does not possess the derived dental characters of the living jaguar Panthera onca (e.g. weak or no canine vertical groove, robust premolars), and presumably did not specialize on hard‐shelled prey, and therefore should be viewed as a distinct species from the living P. onca. Two additional felids from the Haro River Quarry, the large sabre‐toothed felid? Megantereon sp. and a small undetermined feline, are also reported. The Felidae faunal composition of southern Asia during the Early Pleistocene is generally similar to that of northern Eurasia, and the paleoenvironment is probably slightly more closed.

Not a jaguar after all? Phylogenetic affinities and morphology of the Pleistocene felid Panthera gombaszoegensis

“…Several authors have pointed out the resemblances between P. onca and P. gombaszoegensis (e.g. Argant & Argant 2011;Marciszak 2014;Stimpson et al 2015;Jiangzuo & Liu 2020), leading to the characterisation of the latter as the 'European jaguar' or 'Eurasian jaguar' (e.g. Argant and Argant 2011;Hemmer et al 2001;Jiangzuo and Liu 2020;Marciszak and Lipecki 2021;Mol et al 2011;Stimpson et al 2015).…”

“…3C-E) of the material from La Belle-Roche and other extant and fossil pantherines. To complete our dataset, measurements published by O'Regan (2002) and Jiangzuo & Liu (2020) on the upper dentition were also included in the morphometric analysis (see Table S2). All measurements and ratios on the cranium and on the upper and lower dentition are provided in the supplementary material (Tables S3-S8).…”

“…Initially regarded as a singular pantherine species (Kretzoi 1938a), P. gombaszoegensis was later reclassified as a subspecies of the modern jaguar: Panthera onca gombaszoegensis (Hemmer 1971). The status of the taxon is still debated, with a series of studies regarding P. gombaszoegensis as a fully valid species (Argant & Argant 2011;Reynolds 2013;Marciszak 2014;Stimpson et al 2015;Jiangzuo & Liu 2020), whereas others note that the differences between P. gombaszoegensis and the living jaguar are not sufficient to warrant full specific distinction (Hemmer et al 2001(Hemmer et al , 2010Hankó 2007;Mol et al 2011). The scarcity of P. gombaszoegensis material has made it difficult to unravel this taxonomic debate, especially as the species was erected solely based on isolated teeth described by Kretzoi (1938b) and almost all the material ever reported in the literature is composed of dental remains.…”

“…The scarcity of P. gombaszoegensis material has made it difficult to unravel this taxonomic debate, especially as the species was erected solely based on isolated teeth described by Kretzoi (1938b) and almost all the material ever reported in the literature is composed of dental remains. It was recently demonstrated that dental traits of P. onca and P. gombaszoegensis are morphologically different (Jiangzuo & Liu 2020), although the cranial anatomy of P. gombaszoegensis remains insufficiently described in the literature to draw definitive conclusions. As a result, there are very few truly multivariate morphometric analyses comparing P. gombaszoegensis to other pantherine species (Mazák, Christiansen, & Kitchener 2011), with most studies limited to bivariate analyses (Langlois 2002;O'Regan & Turner 2004;Argant & Argant 2011;Mol et al 2011;Jiangzuo & Liu 2020;Marciszak & Lipecki 2021).…”

“…It was recently demonstrated that dental traits of P. onca and P. gombaszoegensis are morphologically different (Jiangzuo & Liu 2020), although the cranial anatomy of P. gombaszoegensis remains insufficiently described in the literature to draw definitive conclusions. As a result, there are very few truly multivariate morphometric analyses comparing P. gombaszoegensis to other pantherine species (Mazák, Christiansen, & Kitchener 2011), with most studies limited to bivariate analyses (Langlois 2002;O'Regan & Turner 2004;Argant & Argant 2011;Mol et al 2011;Jiangzuo & Liu 2020;Marciszak & Lipecki 2021). Moreover, the very fragmentary state of fossils assigned to P. gombaszoegensis resulted in an absence of this taxon in phylogenetic analyses of pantherines.…”