The American lion: the giant ancestor of modern cats

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

For a long time, before the moment when man became a hunter and acquired a weapon, at the top of the food chain of our planet were representatives of the cat family. Of course, these were not modern lions, jaguars, leopards and tigers, but their extinct ancestors, such as the saber-toothed tiger or the American lion. Let's get acquainted virtually with the prehistoric extinct American lion, or, as scientists call it, Panthera leo atrox.

Biological Description

All lions, as well as jaguars, tigers and leopards are representatives of the cat family (Felidae), belong to the subfamily Pantherinae - big cats, and the genus Panthera (panther). According to scientific research, the evolution of this species occurred about 900,000 years ago in what is today modern Africa. Subsequently, representatives of this species settled most of the territory of the Holarctic. Mostthe earliest remains of predators in Europe were found near the Italian city of Isernia, and their age was determined at 700,000 years. About 300,000 years ago, a cave lion lived on the Eurasian continent. Thanks to the isthmus, which at that time connected America with Eurasia, part of the population of these cave predators came through Alaska and Chukotka to North America, where, due to long-term isolation, a new subspecies of lions, the American ones, was formed.

Kinship ties

As a result of a long-term joint work carried out by researchers from Russia, England, Australia and Germany, it was found that there were three types of lions on our planet. Today, a modern lion lives in a rather small area. But before him there were two prehistoric and now extinct species. First of all, this is a cave lion (Panthera leo spelaea), which lived in the west of Canada and in the territory of almost all of Eurasia in the Pleistocene. In addition, there was also the American lion (Panthera leo atrox), who lived in the territory of the modern United States. And also in some parts of South America. It is also called the North American lion, or the giant jaguar Negele. As a result of studies of the genetic material of fossil animals and modern predators, it was possible to establish that all three species of lions are very close in their genome. But what else scientists have found out is that the American lion subspecies has been in genetic isolation for more than 340,000 years, during which time it has become very different from the rest of the subspecies.

From wheredid they come?

Initially, lions that came from Africa populated the territory of Eurasia and only then crossed the Isthmus of Beringia, which connected North America with the Eurasian continent in those distant times, and began to explore the new continent. Scientists suggest that the emergence of two different species in North America is associated with the isolation of representatives of these two populations as a result of glaciation. According to another hypothesis, different species: the cave lion and the American lion are representatives of two waves of migration from Eurasia, quite far removed from each other in time.

What did he look like?

Like other prehistoric predators, the American lion disappeared about 10,000 years ago. At one time, it was one of the largest and most dangerous animals: its length could reach three meters or even more, and its weight reached 300 for females, and up to 400 kg for males. Among scientists there is still no agreement on whether this animal had a mane, like its modern descendant, or not. However, they describe his appearance quite definitely: on powerful legs there was a dense, muscular body, crowned with a large head, and behind was a long tail. The color of the skin, as the researchers suggest, was monophonic, but, possibly, changed seasonally. The most morphologically close to the American lion are ligers, the offspring of a tigress and a lion. It is difficult to imagine what the American lion looked like from the description. Photos of the reconstruction of its appearance help to understand how similar it is to its modern "relative".

Where did you live?

As a result of archaeological excavations, the remains of this animal were discovered on a rather large territory: from Peru to Alaska. This allowed scientists to assert that the American lion lived not only in North, but also in certain regions of South America. Many remains of this animal were discovered near Los Angeles. Even today, despite the significant advances in science, scientists cannot name the exact and specific reasons that caused the disappearance of this predator about 10,000 years ago. There are hypotheses about the depletion of food lands and the death of animals that served as food for American lions due to glaciation and changing climatic conditions. There is also a version about the involvement of ancient people in the extermination of this formidable predator.

Food and competitors

The American lion at one time could prey on the ancestors of modern elks and bison, as well as on extinct bush bulls, western camels, wild bulls and horses (Equus). At the same time, other large predators lived on the North American continent, also extinct.

To protect their prey and hunting grounds, lions could unite in groups. The American lion fought to defend its food and territory against the saber-toothed tiger (Machairodontinae), dire ancient wolves (Canis dirus) and short-faced bears (Arctodus simus).