Panthera spelaea , commonly known as the cave lion or less commonly as the steppe lion , is an extinct Panthera species that was native to Eurasia and northwest North America during the Pleistocene epoch.
Genetic analysis of ancient DNA has revealed that while closely related, it was a distinct species genetically isolated from the modern lion Panthera leo , [ 1 ] with the genetic divergence between the two species estimated at around , years ago.
It became extinct about 13, years ago. Panthera spelaea interacted with both Neanderthals and modern humans, who used their pelts and in the case of the latter, depicted them in artistic works. Several anatomical studies of remains of Panthera spelaea were conducted during the early-mid 19th century, who generally agreed that the species had lion affinities.
Results from morphological studies showed that it is distinct in cranial and dental anatomy to justify the specific status of Panthera spelaea. In , the subspecies Panthera spelaea vereshchagini was proposed for seven specimens found in Siberia and Yukon , which have smaller skulls and teeth than the average P. One lived across western Europe and the other was restricted to Beringia during the Pleistocene. For this reason, the Beringian population is considered a distinct subspecies, P. Lion-like pantherine felids first appeared in the Tanzanian Olduvai Gorge about 1.
These cats dispersed into Eurasia from East Africa around the end of the Early Pleistocene and the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene , giving rise to Panthera fossilis. The oldest widely accepted fossils of P. The following cladogram shows the genetic relationship between P. Felis catus. Neofelis nebulosa clouded leopard. Panthera tigris tiger. Panthera onca jaguar. Panthera uncia snow leopard. Panthera pardus leopard. Panthera leo leo Asian, North and West African lions.
