Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758) from the late Pleistocene of Brazilian Intertropical Region: taxonomy, habitat, isotopic diet composition, and isotopic niche overlap with extinct faunivores

Record and paleoecological insights of a sub‐adult specimen of Smilodon populator Lund, 1842 found in a cave in Bahia, Brazil

“…The sub-adult individual of S. populator could have competed with other larger carnivores that lived in the Pleistocene of Bahia, as well as with adult individuals of Panthera onca. Dantas et al (2022c) presented an adult P. onca individual weighing 209 kg that would have had a typical and maximum prey range ranging from 335 to 1169 kg.…”

“…The studied material was discovered in November 2020 at Engrunado cave, municipality of Nova Redenção, Bahia (12°49′11.2″S, 41°04′13.18″W; Fig. 1), which, during the Late Pleistocene, was part of the Brazilian Intertropical Region (BIR), a historically stable and wide area during the late Quaternary (Dantas et al , 2022b), which today includes several states of northeastern and southeastern Brazil, with a predominance of seasonal dry forests (Caatinga and Cerrado; Cartelle, 1999).…”

“…(A) Map of the Brazilian Intertropical Region ( sensu Dantas et al , 2022b), highlighting (black circle) the municipality of Nova Redenção, Bahia, Brazil; (B) main entrance of Engrunado cave (Photo: Mario Dantas, 2020). [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]…”

“…Comments: These fossils are attributed to Smilodon based on the upper right canine, which is well developed, arched, anteriorly convex and posteriorly concave, with its anterior and posterior edges sharpened and finely serrated, as described by Lund (1950) for the genus. Specifically, it is (Merriam & Stock, 1932), S. populator (Berta, 1985;Paula Couto, 1980;Cartelle & Abuhid, 1989;Castro & Langer, 2008) and Panthera onca (Dantas et al, 2022c) attributed to S. populator based on the lambdoid crest, which forms a concave contour with the mastoid process (Fig. 3A), an autapomorphy of the species (e.g.…”

“…Based on this technique, some authors (e.g. Prevosti & Martin, 2013; Prevosti & Schubert, 2013; Bocherens et al , 2016; Dantas et al , 2020, 2022a) have inferred that S. populator may have been a pack hunter, exploring both open and closed environments, including giant mammals such as giant ground sloths and proboscideans in its prey options, but preying more on moderately large mammals such as horses and camelids, and occasionally acting as a scavenger.…”