Lion ancient drawing. Scientists have discovered a previously unknown subspecies of the African cave lion. Possible causes of extinction

A large number of representatives of the fauna lived on our planet at different times. However, the populations of many animals began to decline. The main factors of extinction have always been considered those associated with climate. But with the development of man, many animals disappeared forever. In this article we will talk about the disappeared wild cats.

Tasmanian tiger (marsupial tiger, Tasmanian wolf, thylacine)

One of the most mysterious animals that has been exterminated is the Tasmanian tiger.

It got its name in honor of the habitat - Tasmania. Despite the fact that to a large extent its name suggests the relationship of a mammal to the cat family, in fact it is a big misconception. Many researchers even classify the mammal as a subspecies of wild dogs.

The length of an adult individual could reach 1.4 meters without taking into account the tail. The length of the tail could exceed 60 cm. The weight of the animal is 6.35-7.7 kg.

European settlers who arrived on the Australian mainland began a rapid hunt for individuals of this species, arguing that the Tasmanian tigers steal livestock. By the 1920s, the animal population had been reduced so much that scientists had to list the species in the Red Book. Man finally exterminated the Tasmanian tiger in 1936.

Caspian tiger (Persian tiger, Turanian tiger)

A feature of such tigers is long stripes along the body, as well as their brown color. In winter, whiskers appeared in the Caspian tigers, the fur in the abdomen and the entire body became very fluffy and thick.

The mass of the average Caspian tiger was 240 kg.

The Romans used the Caspian tigers in gladiator fights.

The Caspian tiger lived in Central Asia, as well as the territory of the northern Caucasus. The rookery of the Caspian tiger could be observed up close in tropical impassable places. But they were all pretty close to the water. In just one day, the Turanian tiger could travel more than 100 km, which indicates the endurance of an extinct animal.

The last mentions and studies related to this representative of the fauna date back to the 50s of the last century. On the territory of Turkmenistan on January 10, 1954, one of the last individuals was seen, which migrated from the northern part of Iran. According to some reports, the last Caspian tiger was shot in the southeastern part of Turkey in 1970.

Javan tiger

It got its name because of the place of its main residence - the island of Java, located in Indonesia.

Adult individuals weighed 75-141 kg, body length is about 2-2.5 meters.

It died out relatively recently - in the 1980s, due to habitat destruction, as well as poaching.

Bali tiger

The habitat is the island of Bali, which is why it was called Balinese.

It is believed that the Ballic and Javan tigers had the same ancestor.

The length of the tiger is 0.93-2.3 meters, excluding the tail, weight 65-100 kg.

Outwardly, this tiger among all subspecies was distinguished by the smallest number of black stripes. There may be dark spots between the stripes.

The tiger is often mentioned in folk stories and in the visual arts of the peoples of Bali.

Bali tigers were destroyed by hunters. The last tiger was killed in 1937.

Pleistocene tiger

The most mysterious feline subspecies, known from fragmentary remains.

He lived in Russia, China and on the island of Java.

It is rather an early version of the modern tiger.

European cheetah (giant cheetah)

Lived on the territory of Eurasia about 500 thousand years ago.

Body length 1.3-1.5 meters excluding tail. Weight 60-90 kg. Height 90-120 cm.

Historians have discovered the remains of this cat in Europe, India and China.

Outwardly, he looked like a modern cheetah. The color of this animal remains a mystery. There are suggestions that the European cheetah had long hair.

The European cheetah most likely died out due to competition with other felids, which left no free niche for this large predator.

Miracinonyx

Possibly a distant relative of the cheetah. Probably the ancestor of the cougar.

He lived about 3 million years ago on the American continent.

Outwardly, it was similar to a modern cheetah, had a shortened skull, with enlarged nasal cavities and high teeth.

It was about the size of a modern cheetah.

Miracinonyx died out 20-10 thousand years ago due to climate change, lack of food and human hunting for it.

European jaguar (Gombastsog panther)

Lived approximately 1.5 million years ago, and is the earliest known species of the Panther genus in Europe.

European jaguars averaged around 120-160 kg. They were larger than modern jaguars.

The European jaguar was most likely a solitary animal. Lived in forests, but could also hunt in open spaces.

Pleistocene jaguar

It is believed to have descended from the giant jaguar. Appeared about 1.6 million years ago.

It was 1 meter high, 1.8-2 meters long, excluding tail, weight 150-190 kg.

Pleistocene jaguars lived in dense jungles, swampy floodplains, or coastal areas of North and South America.

Extinct 10 thousand years ago.

giant jaguar

Lived in North America 1.6 million years ago.

There were two subspecies of giant jaguars - North American and South American.

The jaguar had long legs and a tail, and was about the size of a modern lion or tiger.

Scientists believe that jaguars lived on open plains, but due to rivalry with lions and other big cats, they were forced to find more wooded areas.

Extinct 10 thousand years ago.

Barbary lion (Atlas lion or Nubian lion)

The mass of an adult is 100-270 kg.

This animal was considered the largest lion subspecies. The Barbarian lion differed from its counterparts in a thick and dark mane, which went far beyond its shoulders and hung down in the lower abdomen.

In the past, it could be found in Africa, in the northern part of the Sahara desert. Europeans brought it to the Roman Empire, where it was used for recreational purposes, namely, fights with the Turanian tiger.

At the beginning of the 17th century, its population declined sharply, as a result of which it was visible only in northwestern Africa. Due to the popularity of the use of firearms against animals at the time, as well as the existence of a targeted policy against the Barbary lion, the numbers in this region were reduced. The last individual was killed in 1922 in the Atlas Mountains on the territory of their Moroccan part.

cave lion

2.1 meters long, up to 1.2 meters high.

The Mosbach lion is considered the progenitor of the cave lion.

Lived in northern Eurasia.

The cave lion, despite its name, did not live in the caves, but came there only during periods of illness or old age.

It is believed that cave lions were social animals and lived, like modern lions, in prides.

american lion

He lived about 11 thousand years ago.

The body length is about 2.5 meters, excluding the tail. The American lion weighed over 400 kg.

The American lion is descended from the cave lion, whose ancestor is the Mosbach lion. Outwardly, most likely, it looked like a hybrid of a modern lion and a tiger, but, perhaps, without a huge mane.

mosbach lion

Lived about 300 thousand years ago.

The body length of an adult individual reached 2.5 meters, excluding the tail, the lions were about 1.3 meters high. The Mosbach lion weighed up to 450 kg.

It turns out that it was the largest and heaviest subspecies of the lion of all that existed.

From the Mosbach lion came the cave lion.

Xenosmilus

It inhabited the territory of modern North America about 1.8 million years ago.

Xenosmilus weighed up to 350 kg, and the body size was about 2 meters.

Xenosmilus had a powerful physique and short but strong paws, had not very long upper fangs.

Homotherium

Lived in Eurasia, Africa and North America 3-3.5 million years ago.

The ancestor of Homotheria is Machairod.

Growth of Homotherium up to 1.1 meters, weight about 190 kg.

The forelimbs are somewhat longer than the hind ones, the tail is short - the homotherium was more like a hyena than a big cat. Homotherians had relatively short upper canine teeth, but were wider and serrated.

Homotheria had a difference from all cats - they saw better during the day, and not at night.

Extinct 10 thousand years ago.

Machairod

Lived in Eurasia, Africa and North America about 15 million years ago.

The name of the genus comes from the similarity of the teeth of its representatives with curved mahair swords. Machairods looked like giant tigers with 35 cm long saber fangs.

This saber-toothed tiger weighed up to 200 kg and was up to 3 meters long.

They became extinct about 2 million years ago.

Smilodon

He lived in America from 2.5 million to 10 thousand years BC. e.

Smilodon was the largest saber-toothed cat, reaching a height at the withers of 1.25 meters, a length of 2.5 meters including a 30-centimeter tail and weighing from 225 to 400 kg.

He had a stocky physique atypical for modern felines. The coloration of these animals could be uniform, but most likely it was spotted, like a leopard, and the presence of a short mane in males is also possible.

Smilodon fangs were up to 29 centimeters long (including the root), and, despite their fragility, were powerful weapons.

Scientists believe that smilodons were social animals. They lived in groups. Feeding the pride females.

The name "smilodon" means "dagger tooth".

One of the famous cartoon characters Diego from the cartoon "Ice Age" is just a smilodon.

Thilacosmil (Saber-toothed tiger)

Lived in South America about 5 million years ago.

It was 0.8-1.8 meters long.

It died out 2.5 million years ago, probably unable to compete with the first saber-toothed cats, in particular with Homotherium.

Outwardly, thilacosmil was a large, powerful stocky predator, with huge fangs. He was missing his upper incisors.

In general, tilacosmil was not a relative of saber-toothed tigers from the cat family, rather just a similar species that lived in the same conditions.

— Cenozoic era Mesozoic era Paleozoic era Proterozoic era Archean era

Cretaceous Permian Quaternary Carboniferous Neogene Jurassic Devonian Paleogene Triassic Silurian Ordovician Cambrian

— Абелизавр Аммониты Антеозавр Несовершенные грибы Продуценты Шонизавр Акантоды, или колючкозубые Никказавр Прокариоты Рабидозавры Эласмозавр Петалонамы Пробурнетия Танистрофей Эукариоты Ютацераптос Акритархи Анхизавр Дейтерозавр Немиана Платеозавр Торвозавр Ютараптор Корненожка Эвоплоцефал Эстемменозух Ёргия Строматолиты Тиараюденс Хасмозавр Дикинсонии Архозавр Онколиты Экриксинатозавр Синезелёные водоросли Циньтаозавр Археоциаты Центрозавр апертус Акритархи Торозавр Археаспис Уненлагия Андива Ругопс Вентогирус Тилозавр Гребневики Тараскозавр Трицератопс Кимберелла Троодон Австрораптор Сприггина Австраловенатор Вендии Солза Спинозавр Алектрозавр Трилобиты Агухацератопс Акритархи Артроподы Трихоплакс Аномалокариды Аргентинозавр Трибрахидиум Арриноцератопс Фагоцителла Амаргазавр Харния или чарния Альваресзавр Эдиакария флиндерси Анхицератопс Альтиспинакс Альбертозавр Янхуанозавр Аброзавр Алиорам Акрокантозавр Eurynosaurus Alanka Cetiosaurus Amurosaurus Edmarka rex Aerosteon Ceratosaurus Aukasaurus Undorosaurus Achelosaurus Temnodontosaurus Apatosaurus Deinonychus Brachiosaurus or Giraffatitan Microraptor Diplodocus Tarbosaurus Allosaurus Ankylosaurus Afrovenator Giraffatitan

— Trilobites

– Desmatophocides Mesonix Barbourophelides Flagellated Percrocutids Feline Amphicyons, or Amphicyonids Medusoid Aminodontids Hyaenodon Entelodonts

— Amplectobelua Jellyfish davidi Sprigg Anomalocara Algae Jellyfish delicata Jellyfish Sprigg Smilodons Medusa radiata Sprigg Jellyfish minuta Sponges Titanotilopus nebraskensis Parvankorina Kloudina

— Parvancorina minchami Gyendodon cruentrus Green algae Megachoerus Loaf cave lion Smilodon populator Titanotilopus nebraskensis Euglena green badyaga river Red algae Smilodon fatalis Epipterodon mongolensis Immanopterodon implacidus Rod-shaped sponge Tritemnodon Aficion ingens Cork sponge Phakellia common freshwater bark sponge

CAVE LION
Panthera leo spelaea

The cave lion (Panthera leo spelaea) is probably the record holder for the number of discussions on the issue of attributing it to one species or another. Today, there are about a dozen opinions regarding who this wonderful beast should be considered.
His "misadventures" began in 1810, when the skull of a lion from Franconian Alba was described by the naturalist Georg August Goldfuss. Around the middle of the 19th century, disputes began around the nature of the animal, which cannot subside to this day. What are the people of science arguing about? Let's arrange at least the main versions "in order of popularity."

Version one is the most popular today. The cave lion, as well as its ancestor the Mosbach lion, as well as the East Siberian and American lions, are only subspecies within a single species - the "lion".

The second version - the cave lion - is an independent species that includes East Siberian and Mosbach lions, but differs from modern and American lions.

The third version - the cave lion - is an independent species that differs from modern lions, but includes along with the usual cave lions - Mosbach, East Siberian and American.

Version four. The cave lion is an independent species that descended simultaneously with the modern lion from the Mosbach lion.

Version five. The cave lion is a species that descended from the modern lion (which allegedly existed already more than a million years ago), but failed to outlive its ancestor ...

Version six. The cave lion is the common ancestor of tigers and lions.

Version seven. The cave lion is a subspecies of the tiger.

Version eight. The cave lion from Eurasia is the ancestor of modern lions, and the American lion is the ancestor of jaguars (this version has been criticized by most scientists).
As we can see, there is a lot of confusion in this matter. In order to somehow minimize it, let's try to put forward a few "general postulates".
First, we are talking about representatives of the predators of the feline family and the genus of panthers, in which some distinguish a species (a more popular point of view), while others (a less popular point of view) - a subgenus - "lion".

Secondly, arguments about the existence of animals 1 - 1.5 million years ago, which can be called lions with confidence, seem to us unconvincing. The first "real" lions are Mosbakh, which appeared about 700 thousand years ago. The question of their origin is still not entirely clear.
Thirdly, we will use the term "cave lion" in a relatively narrow sense - to a subspecies (species?) of lions - Panthera leo spelaea. We will distinguish it from the Mosbach lions, and from the East Siberian, and from the American, and from modern ones, mentioning them all as the closest relatives (and, possibly, even "brothers" in appearance) of the "cave lion".

In the 21st century, scientists expected that genetics would put an end to the two-century discussion. In 2004, German scientists conducted a large-scale DNA study, which showed that the cave lion and all its closest relatives belong to the same species with modern lions. It would seem - finally! But it was not there. A new international study conducted in 2006 on a larger sample of material indicated that the cave lion, the American lion and the modern lion are three different species! But in 2010, new research again forced much of the scientific world to believe in the "one-species" nature of lions.

If among paleozoologists the majority of specialists tend to "multi-species" versions, then among zoologists who study modern animals, supporters of the "single-species" version win a confident victory. They point out that, say, in modern wolves, the variability of different "parameters" within the same species is much greater than that observed between modern and cave lions. But dividing into different types of wolves does not occur to anyone!

Lions that lived in the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the Caucasus and the South of Russia during antiquity and the early Middle Ages make a very strong confusion in the question. Who were they?

Without a doubt, the ancient Etruscans, Greeks, Romans and many other ancient peoples brought predators to Europe to perform in circuses, keep menageries, and also for military purposes. Some of these animals could run away, and even breed in nature. But, let's say, the famous Balkan lion, known to us from the legends about the exploits of Hercules, was definitely originally wild.

Who was he? A subspecies of the modern lion? One of the last descendants of the caveman? Or in Europe, in general, did different subspecies (or species?) of lions manage to live simultaneously at the same time? Or maybe an Asian subspecies of the modern lion lived in the Black Sea region and the Caucasus, which eventually formed a "branch" in the Balkans? The question is very interesting. According to some reports, lions in Southeastern Europe existed right up to the 10th century AD! And it is impossible to say who it was - a cave, Asian or modern African lion - with complete certainty! There are far more questions in this animal story than answers...

Whatever it was, but we can confidently talk about the appearance of the first Panthera leo spelaea about 350 thousand years ago.

Cave lions were intermediate in size between the Mosbach and American lions, on the one hand, and modern African lions, on the other. The first reached, apparently, 2.4 meters in length without a tail. The second (modern) ones are almost half a meter shorter. Cave lions were approximately 2.1 - 2.2 meters long. If modern lions reach a mass of 250 kilograms, then cave lions could weigh - even more than 300. In general, cave lions exceeded modern ones in linear dimensions by about 10%, while, apparently, they had approximately the same proportions (except that they were a little more massive).

Subjects for disputes in the scientific community are the mane, color and ... tassel on the tail of cave lions. The basis for discussions was created by ... primitive artists. The cave lion is a rare case for an extinct animal when we can see firsthand how eyewitnesses saw the beast. Both picturesque and sculptural images of Panthera leo spelaea have come down to us.

The most famous are drawings from the Chauvet cave in France, from the Vogelherdhöle cave in the Swabian Alba ... So, almost all primitive artists depicted cave lions either without a mane at all, or perhaps "with a hint" of it. Consequently, either she did not exist at all, or she was very short, having nothing to do with the "decoration" of today's African beauties. With a brush it's more difficult. In some drawings, there is a characteristic thickening at the end of the tail, which can only indicate a tassel. And some of them don't. As it was in fact - one can only guess.

Color is more interesting. At one time it was popular to give the cave lion almost a tiger striped color. But today it is generally accepted that there are no grounds for this. In the landscapes in which the cave lion lived, this would rather serve as an unmasking sign. But not very bright spots, folding into a kind of stripes, as is sometimes the case with young lions today, they could well have. In general, in color, cave lions resembled either modern lionesses or cougars - it was most likely either sandy or cream.

The cave lion was the owner of a large head with a straight or somewhat convex profile, with rounded ears and, possibly, noticeable sideburns. The cave lion looked quite high-legged.

The dentition was similar to the modern lion. The teeth themselves were often more massive than those of modern tigers and lions.

Proponents of different views on the nature of the cave lion (and who is considered a representative of the same species with him) describe its range in different ways. If the cave lion, together with its East Siberian and American counterparts, is classified as a lion species, then in the period from 300 to 10 thousand years ago they were the second most common species on the globe after humans (and for some period of time they even occupied a larger area, than a person). But even if we take Panthera leo spelaea in a narrow sense, the territory on which it lived is also impressive - it is almost the whole of Eurasia and North Africa! Moreover, he managed to penetrate to the far north - as far as Scandinavia in Europe. It is possible that in Asia he could even reach Taimyr.

There are also discussions regarding the causes and timing of the extinction of cave lions. Some scientists associate it - with the disappearance of food familiar to animals (we will talk about this in more detail in the section on the lifestyle of the cave lion), others - with climate change, and others - with human activity. But almost all researchers agree that in most of its range it disappeared between 13,000 and 10,000 years ago. But then what to do with the lions that already lived in historical times in the Black Sea region, in the Balkans, and perhaps even in Italy and Spain??? The latest mentions of lions in the south of Russia are about a thousand years old, in Greece - a little more than two! We will leave this question for future generations of scientists. If these are not "lost" African or Asian lions, then these are representatives of the last populations of cave lions.

Ancient authors and artists add fuel to the fire of discussions. In particular, heated discussions are caused by the presence in the art of the steppes of the so-called "Scythian wolf" strikingly similar to a lion! This motif was very popular in the first millennium BC. Most likely, they depicted precisely the "cat". But whom - a leopard, a snow leopard, a cheetah? External similarity refutes all these assumptions. What happens, the image of a lion migrated to the art of the Scythians from India or the Middle East?

Perhaps... But it may be that they often met him in everyday life.
It gave the fact that in Central Asia to this day an almost complete Pleistocene group of ungulates has been preserved, which included a horse, kulan, camel, reindeer, red deer (in Transbaikalia and Altai), saiga, gazelle, Siberian ibex, argali, blue sheep and yak (in Tibet). This, in combination with the low density of human settlement, is simply ideal conditions for the existence of a cave lion. The end of existence in these parts of Panthera leo spelaea could have been put by Indo-European or Turkic-speaking nomads who protected their herds from it either in the first millennium BC - or in the first already our ...

There is one more confirmation of the longer existence of the cave lion. Let us quote the "Book of Edification" by the famous medieval oriental scholar Usama ibn Munkiz, a contemporary of the Crusades:
“I heard, but did not see myself, that there are snow leopards among wild animals. I did not believe this, but Sheikh Imam Hujjat ad-Din Abu Hashim Muhammad ibn Zafar, may Allah have mercy on him, told me the following: “I was traveling west with an old servant who belonged to my father, who traveled a lot and experienced a lot. We lost all the water that was with us, and we suffered from thirst. There was no third person with us, and we were alone - he and I - riding two We saw a well on the road and went towards it, but found a sleeping leopard near it. to me: "Look after the camel's head." He went to the well, and when the leopard saw him, he got up and jumped towards him, but slipped past and roared. His females with cubs rushed to him, who ran, catching up with him. He no longer got in our way and did no harm.We got drunk and watered the animals, and then we moved on.” So he told me, may Allah have mercy on him, and he was one of the best Muslims in his religiosity and learning."

It is foolish to doubt the veracity of such an authoritative source. Leopards were well known to ibn Munkiz - he would not call them leopards. And even more so the hero of the story is not a snow leopard. A visit to Palestine or Syria by a tiger is also a very unlikely event. And the most interesting - the scientist, apparently, describes the pride! Of modern cats, this form of organization of life is typical only for lions. But ordinary African and Asiatic lions in the time of Ibn Munkiz were very common in the world inhabited by Muslims, and he would not call them leopards! Mystery? Mystery! Perhaps the Arab sage met one of the last cave lions on the planet? Everything can be...

Although - the last one? And today, from the unexplored corners of central Africa, news comes of strange large lions without a mane. Maybe the cave lion still lingered somewhere? I would love to believe this...

The cave lion is a subspecies of the lion that became extinct approximately 10,000 years ago. It appeared on Earth 300-350 thousand years ago. Even by historical standards, this is a very long period of time. This subspecies survived several ice ages, but why it disappeared is unknown. There is an opinion that the main reason is the lack of food. The beast had nothing to eat, and it died out. This is just a guess. But how it really happened - no one knows.

The cave lion got its name not at all because it chose caves as its habitat. In these natural formations, he died, apparently considering them the most secluded place. The mighty beast lived in coniferous forests and meadows. It was there that many ungulates were found, on which the lion hunted.

Traces of this predator are found even in polar regions. There, reindeer and, most likely, cubs of cave bears served as food for him. These animals were the main diet. But besides them, lions hunted bison and young or old mammoths.

Many rock paintings depicting cave lions have been preserved. It is interesting that all the animals are depicted without manes. Maybe this subspecies had no mane at all, or maybe the ancient man depicted only lionesses. But the tassels on the tails, which are unique to these big cats, are depicted very carefully.

The habitat of the cave lion covered Europe, as well as the central and northern regions of Asia. In the northeast of Asia, the animals were the largest. Over time, they separated into a separate subspecies, called the East Siberian or Bering cave lion. In one of the ice ages, these predators came across the frozen Bering Strait to America. There they settled down to modern Peru.

So appeared american lion. In size, it significantly exceeded the Eurasian counterpart. It died out 10-14 thousand years ago for unclear reasons. Thus, there were three subspecies: Eurasian, East Siberian and American. The latter was the largest and the former the smallest. In size, it exceeded the modern African lion by 10%, and the American was as much as 25% larger.

As for the Eurasian subspecies, it can be assumed that it was found in Europe until the end of the first millennium BC. e. Therefore, the beast could well participate in the gladiator fights held in ancient Rome. From him came the Asiatic and African lions. These are warm animals. As for the north, after the cave lion died out in the cold regions, representatives of this species did not remain there. The same goes for America.

These animals most likely lived in prides, like modern lions. This is again told by rock paintings. They depict many animals chasing one victim. So they hunted collectively. This is an integral feature of powerful cats, rightfully bearing the royal title. True, tigers are larger today, but at that distant time, cave lions were the strongest and largest representatives of the cat family.

Physician and naturalist Georg August Goldfuss, who found the skull of a cave lion in the Franconian Alba.

In Soviet paleontology, at the initiative of Nikolai Vereshchagin, the cave lion was called the tigrolev.

Spreading

In Europe, the first lions appeared about 700,000 years ago and belonged to the subspecies Panthera leo fossilis, the so-called Mosbach lion. That it is sometimes also referred to as the cave lion can be misleading. As a rule, the term cave lion refers to a later subspecies Panthera leo spelaea. Mosbach lions reached a length of up to 2.4 m without taking into account the tail and were half a meter larger than modern lions. They were the size of a liger. From this large subspecies came the cave lion, which appeared about 300,000 years ago. It was distributed throughout northern Eurasia and even during the glaciations penetrated deep into the north. In the northeast of Eurasia, a separate subspecies was formed, the so-called East Siberian cave lion ( ), which reached the American continent through the then existing land connection between Chukotka and Alaska. Spreading south, it developed into the American lion ( panthera leo atrox). The East Siberian cave lion died out at the end of the last major glaciation about 10 thousand years ago. The European cave lion died out, probably in the same period, but it is possible that it remained for some time in the Balkan Peninsula. Regarding the lions that existed on it until the beginning of our era, it is not known whether they were cave lions.

Appearance

The skeleton of an adult male cave lion, found in 1985 near the German Siegsdorf, had a height at the withers of 1.20 m and a length of 2.1 m excluding the tail. This corresponds to a very large modern lion. At the same time, the Siegsdorf lion was inferior to many of its relatives. Cave lions were on average 5-10% larger than modern lions, but did not reach the huge size of Mosbach lions and American lions. Rock paintings from the Stone Age allow us to draw some conclusions about the coloring of the coat and mane of the cave lion. Particularly impressive depictions of lions have been found in southern France in the Chauvet cave in the Ardèche department, as well as in the Vogelherdhöhle cave in the Swabian Alb. Ancient drawings of cave lions always show them without a mane, which suggests that, unlike their African or Indian relatives, they either did not have one, or it was not so impressive. Often this image shows the tuft on the tail characteristic of lions. The coloring of the wool, apparently, was one-color.

In Yakutia, a well-preserved corpse of a lion cub at the age of several months was found, as well as two more, slightly worse preserved specimens.

Lifestyle

Relatives

Unlike the Mosbach lion, regarding the classification of which as Panthera leo fossilis unanimity has always reigned among scientists, there has been a long debate about the cave lion, whether it is a lion, a tiger, or even whether it should be singled out as a separate species. In 2004, German scientists were able to unambiguously identify it using DNA analysis as a subspecies of the lion. Thus ended the dispute that has existed since the first description of this animal in 1810. However, the Pleistocene lions of the north formed a group of their own, distinct from the lions of Africa and Southeast Asia. To this so-called group Spelaea included the Mosbach lion ( P.l. fossilis), cave lion ( P.l. spelaea), East Siberian lion ( P.l. vereshchagini) and the American lion ( P.l. atrox). All modern subspecies of lions belong to the group Leo. Both groups separated about 600 thousand years ago. Individual fossil specimens of the extinct American lion were larger than the Mosbach lion and thus were among the largest felids that ever existed. Previously, they were considered a separate species, called the giant

Before man climbed to the top of the food chain, wild cats were the strongest and most successful hunters. Even today, these huge predators cause fear and at the same time admiration in a person who is not their competitor in hunting. And yet, prehistoric cats were much better in every way, especially when it comes to hunting. Today's article presents the 10 largest prehistoric felines.

The prehistoric cheetah belongs to the same genus as today's cheetahs. Its appearance was very similar to that of the modern cheetah, but its ancestor was many times larger. The giant cheetah was more like a modern lion in size, because its weight sometimes reached 150 kilograms, so the cheetah easily hunted larger animals. According to some reports, the ancient cheetahs were able to accelerate at speeds up to 115 kilometers per hour. The wild cat lived on the territory of modern Europe and Asia, but could not survive the ice age.

This dangerous animal does not exist today, but there was a time when xenosmilus, along with other predatory cats, headed the food chain of the planet. Outwardly, he very much resembled a saber-toothed tiger, but unlike him, xenosmilus had much shorter teeth, which were similar to those of a shark or a predatory dinosaur. The formidable predator hunted from an ambush, after which he instantly killed the prey, tearing off pieces of meat from it. Xenosmilus was very large, sometimes its weight reached 230 kilograms. Little is known about the animal's habitat. The only place where it was possible to find his remains is Florida.

Currently, jaguars do not differ in particularly large sizes, as a rule, their weight is only 55-100 kilograms. As it turned out, they were not always so. In the distant past, the modern territory of South and North America was filled with giant jaguars. Unlike the modern jaguar, they had longer tails and limbs, and their size was several times larger. According to scientists, the animals lived on open plains along with lions and some other wild cats, and as a result of constant rivalry, they were forced to change their place of residence to more wooded areas. The size of a giant jaguar was equated to a modern tiger.

If the giant jaguars belonged to the same genus as modern ones, then the European jaguars belonged to a completely different one. Unfortunately, today it is still not known what the European jaguar looked like, but some information about it is still known. For example, scientists claim that the weight of this cat was more than 200 kilograms, and the habitat was such countries as Germany, England, the Netherlands, France and Spain.

Such a lion is considered a subspecies of the lion. Cave lions were incredibly large, and their weight reached 300 kilograms. Terrible predators lived in Europe after the ice age, where they were considered one of the most dangerous creatures on the planet. Some sources say that these animals were sacred animals, so they were worshiped by many peoples, and perhaps they were simply afraid. Scientists have repeatedly found various figurines and drawings depicting a cave lion. It is known that cave lions did not have a mane.

One of the most feared and dangerous representatives of wild cats of prehistoric times is Homotherium. The predator lived in the countries of Europe, Asia, Africa, South and North America. The animal adapted so well to the climate of the tundra that it could live for more than 5 million years. The appearance of Homotherium was markedly different from the appearance of all wild cats. The front limbs of this giant were much longer than the hind limbs, which made it look like a hyena. This structure suggests that Homotherium did not jump very well, especially in contrast to modern cats. Although homoteria cannot be called the most, its weight reached a record 400 kilograms. This suggests that the beast was larger than even a modern tiger.

The appearance of the mahairod is similar to the appearance of the tiger, but it is much larger, with a longer tail and huge fangs-knives. Whether he had the characteristic stripes of a tiger is still not known. The remains of mahairod were found in Africa, which indicates its place of residence, in addition, archaeologists are convinced that this wild cat was one of the largest of those times. The weight of mahairod reached half a ton, and in size it resembled a modern horse. Rhinos, elephants and other large herbivores formed the basis of the predator's diet. According to most scholars, the appearance of the Mahairod is most accurately shown in the film of 10,000 BC.

Of all the prehistoric wild cats known to mankind, the American lion is the second most famous after the Smilodon. Lions lived on the territory of modern North and South America, and died out about 11 thousand years ago at the very end of the ice age. Many scientists are convinced that this giant predator was related to today's lion. The weight of an American lion could reach 500 kilograms. There is a lot of controversy about his hunting, but most likely the beast hunted alone.

The most mysterious animal from the entire list was in second place among the largest cats. This tiger is not a separate species, most likely, it is a distant relative of the modern tiger. These giants lived in Asia, where they hunted very large herbivores. Everyone knows that today tigers are the largest representatives of the cat family, but such large tigers as in prehistoric times are not even close today. The Pleistocene tiger was unusually large, and according to the remains found, it even lived in Russia.

The most famous representative of the cat family of prehistoric times. Smilodon had huge teeth like sharp knives and a muscular body with short legs. His body slightly resembled that of a modern bear, although he did not have the clumsiness that a bear has. The amazingly built body of a predator allowed him to run at high speed even over long distances. Smilodons died out about 10 thousand years ago, which means that they lived at the same time as humans, and possibly even hunted them. Scientists believe that smilodons attacked the victim from an ambush.