American lion
| American lion Temporal range: Pleistocene
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| Skeleton from the La Brea tar pits | |
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| Subspecies: | †P. l. atrox
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| Panthera leo atrox (Leidy, 1853)
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The American lion, Panthera leo atrox or Panthera atrox, also known as the North American lion or American cave lion, is an extinct feline of the family Felidae, endemic to North America during the Pleistocene epoch (1.8 mya to 11,000 years ago), existing for approximately 1.79 million years.[1][failed verification]
The American lion was one of the largest types of cat ever to have existed, and the largest lion in history, slightly larger than the Early Middle Pleistocene primitive cave lion, Panthera leo fossilis, and about twenty-five percent larger than the modern African lion.[2][3][dead link]
Description
The American lion is an extinct animal which originated in North America and went on to colonize part of South America as part of the Great American Interchange. The head-body length of the American lion is estimated to have been 1.6–2.5 m (5 ft 3 in – 8 ft 2 in) and it would have stood 1.2 metres (4 ft) at the shoulder.[4] Thus it was larger than its close relative, the present day lion, but still smaller than their contemporary competitor for prey, the Giant short-faced bear, which was the largest carnivoran of North America at the time. The American lion was longer than any other felid overall and heavier than any modern felids, but it was not as heavily built as the saber-toothed cat Smilodon populator, which may have weighed up to 360-470 kilograms (800-1000 lb)[5]. This would make the American lion the longest of all known felids, and Smilodon populator the heaviest. Sorkin (2008) estimated it to weigh roughly 420 kilograms (930 lb).[6] [7]
Approximately one hundred specimens of American lions have been recovered from the La Brea Tar Pits, in Los Angeles, so their body structure is well known. The features and teeth of the extinct American lion strongly resemble modern lions, but they were considerably larger. The American lion was once believed to be the largest subspecies of lion.
Range
South of Alaska, the American lion first appeared during the Sangamonian Stage (the last interglacial). After that it was widespread in the western Americas from Alaska to Peru. It was absent from most of eastern North America and peninsular Florida,[4] although it may have been present in the Lake Michigan area. Like many other large mammals, it went extinct at the end of the Pleistocene, about 10,000 years ago. By then the American lion was one of the abundant Pleistocene megafauna, a wide variety of very large mammals who lived during the Pleistocene. Remains are most common in the Yukon and from the La Brea Tar Pits.
Environment
In some areas of its range, the American lion lived under cold climatic conditions. They probably used caves or fissures for shelter from the cold weather.[citation needed] They may have lined their dens with grass or leaves, as the Siberian tiger does, another great cat that currently lives in the north.[citation needed]
There are fewer American lions in the La Brea tar pits than other predators such as saber-toothed cats (Smilodon fatalis) or dire wolves (Canis dirus), which suggests they may have been smart enough to avoid the hazard,[2] or their hunting methods and strategies simply did not include preying upon entrapped animals to the same degree.[original research?] American lions likely preyed on deer, North American horses[8][failed verification] (now extinct), American bison, mammoths, and other large, herbivorous animals.[citation needed]
Their extinction may have been related to the Holocene extinction event, which wiped out most of the prey of megafauna. Their bones have been found among the refuse of Paleolithic American Indians, so hunting by humans may have contributed to their demise as well.[citation needed]
A replica of the jaw of the first specimen of American lion discovered can be seen in the hand of a statue of paleontologist Joseph Leidy, which is currently standing outside the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.
Classification
The American lion is considered a distinct species of pantherinae,[citation needed] with the scientific name Panthera atrox (Template:PronEng), which means "cruel" or "fearsome panther" in Latin). Overall the skull of the extinct cat was most like that of the jaguar (P. onca). Some later authors accepted this view, but other experts considered P. atrox most closely related to the African lion (P. leo) and its extinct Eurasian relative, the cave lion (P. spelaea). A few paleontologists even went so far as to assign the extinct American cat as a subspecies of P. leo, ("P. leo atrox") rather than as a separate species. At least one authority considers the cave lion to be more closely related to the tiger, P. tigris, citing a comparison of skull shapes;[9][full citation needed][10][11]
Genetic evidence from remains of P.atrox from Wyoming and Alberta shows that the American lion is the sister clade of P.spelaea, with a some degree of statistical support.[12] However, this conclusion is rejected by a recent study that compared the skull, jaw, and teeth of P. atrox with other pantherines and concluded that "P. atrox was no lion" and was distinct from all extant species. The authors suggested that P. atrox may have arisen from pantherines that migrated into North America in the mid-Pleistocene Epoch and also gave rise to jaguars.[13]
See also
- Panthera leo vereshchagini, the East Siberian or Beringian cave lion.
References
- ^ "Panthera leo (lion)". The Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
- ^ a b Tom Demere. "SDNHM Fossil Mysteries Field Guide: American lion". Retrieved 2010-05-18.
- ^ Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre - American Lion. Accessed 2008-08-13. http://www.beringia.com/02/02maina5.html
- ^ a b Paul S Martin (1984). Quaternary Extinctions. The University of Arizona Press. ISBN 0-8165-1100-4.
- ^ Christiansen P, Harris JM (2005) Body size of Smilodon (Mammalia: Felidae). J Morphol 266: 369–384
- ^ Sorkin, B. 2008: "A biomechanical constraint on body mass in terrestrial mammalian predators". Lethaia, 41, pp 333–347
- ^ Merriam, J.C. & Stock, C. 1932: The Felidae of Rancho La Brea. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publications 442, 1–231.
- ^ http://www.discoverseaz.com/History/Horse.html
- ^ Groiss, 1996.
- ^ Burger, Joachim et al. (2004): Molecular phylogeny of the extinct cave lion Panthera leo spelaea. (PDF) Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. Vol.30, p.841-849.
- ^ Christiansen, Per (December 2008): "Phylogeny of the great cats (Felidae: Pantherinae), and the influence of fossil taxa and missing characters" Cladistics Vol.24, Nu.6,pp. 977-992(16)
- ^ Barnett, Ross et al. (2009): [1] (PDF)Phylogeography of lions (Panthera leo ssp.) reveals three distinct taxa and a late Pleistocene reduction in genetic diversity Mol. Ecol. Vol.18, p.1668-1677.
- ^
"Craniomandibular Morphology and Phylogenetic Affinities of Panthera atrox: Implications for the Evolution and Paleobiology of the Lion Lineage". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 29 (3): 934–945. 2009. doi:10.1671/039.029.0314.
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External links
- Prehistoric cats and prehistoric cat-like creatures, from the Messybeast Cat Resource Archive.
- [dead link], by C. R. Harrington, from Yukon Beringia Interpretative Center.
- Panthera atrox 1853, from the Academy of Natural Sciences. (the original specimen)
- Panthera Atrox in Cryptozoology
- Artistic Reconstruction, portrait of the american cave lion.
