Panthera fossilis

The species was first described by Wilhelm von Reichenau in 1906 from remains excavated near Mauer in Germany. P. fossilis was historically considered a modern lion (P. leo) subspecies as Panthera leo fossilis. The placement of Panthera fossilis and its descendant Panthera spelaea as subspecies of the modern lion has been strongly questioned in recent scholarship, due to the genetic distinctiveness of P. spelaea from P. leo. Some employ a subgenus of Panthera, "Leo", to contain several lion-like members of Panthera, including P. leo, P. spelaea, P. atrox and P. fossilis. Evolution The lion lineage is thought to have originated in Africa, with fossils of the lineage on the continent extending back to the Late Pliocene, with the ancestors of Panthera fossilis migrating out of Africa during the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition around 1-0.8 million years ago. The earliest confirmed records of Panthera fossilis in Europe are from Kozi Grzbiet in Poland, which dates to around 750-700,000 years ago, with records of equivalent age also known from Pakefield, England in sediments of the Cromer Forest Bed. The earliest confirmed records in Southern Europe are from the Notarchirico site in Italy, dating to ~660–612,000 years ago. Possible earlier European records are known from the Vallparadís locality in Spain, suggested to date to around 1 million years ago.including supplemental material Remains of Panthera fossilis in Western Siberia are suggested to date to the late Early Pleistocene, The arrival of Panthera (spelaea) fossilis in Europe was part of a faunal turnover event around the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition in which many of the species that characterised the preceding late Villafranchian became extinct. In the carnivore guild, this notably included the giant hyena Pachycrocuta and the sabertooth cat Megantereon. == Description ==

'' with humans Remains of P. fossilis indicate that it was larger than the modern lion and was among the largest known cats ever, with the largest specimens suggested to have a body length of , shoulder height of and body mass of . Compared to its descendant Panthera spelaea. P. fossilis had a slightly wider muzzle and nasal region of the skull, though the postorbital and mastoid are narrower, the orbits (eye sockets) are smaller, the bullae are less inflated, the canine teeth are more narrow and less flattened, the incisors are smaller, the upper second premolar and upper fourth premolar are narrower, the upper and lower third premolar and lower fourth premolars have smaller cusps. Another notable difference is that the front part of the upper skull surface (the frontal-nasal region) is typically concave, while this is less frequent in Panthera spelaea. The differences between the skulls of P. fossilis and P. spelaea have been described as relatively subtle.'' == Ecology ==

During the Middle Pleistocene, Panthera fossilis was the dominant apex predator in European ecosystems, likely able to displace every other contemporaneous predator species from kills/carcasses. == Relationship with humans ==

The only evidence of human interaction with Panthera fossilis is from Gran Dolina, Spain, dating to Marine Isotope Stage 9 (~300,000 years ago), where a specimen of Panthera fossilis displays cut marks thought to be produced by archaic humans (probably the Sima de los Huesos hominins), who are suggested to have butchered the animal for its flesh. == See also ==