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American lion
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The American lion (Panthera leo atrox) also known as the North American lion, American cave lion, is an extinct feline known from fossils. It was one of the largest subspecies of lion ever to have existed, comparable in size to the Early Middle Pleistocene primitive cave lion, Panthera leo fossilis, and about twenty-five percent larger than the modern African lion, though some estimates of the mass of this animal are as high as 300 kg.
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.
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Encyclopedia
The American lion (Panthera leo atrox) also known as the North American lion, American cave lion, is an extinct feline known from fossils. It was one of the largest subspecies of lion ever to have existed, comparable in size to the Early Middle Pleistocene primitive cave lion, Panthera leo fossilis, and about twenty-five percent larger than the modern African lion, though some estimates of the mass of this animal are as high as 300 kg.
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 body length of the American lion is estimated to have been 1.6-2.5 m (5.25-8.20 feet). Thus it was comparable in size to its close relative, the extinct lion, Panthera fossilis, or the modern species of Siberian tiger, but still smaller than their contemporary competitor for prey, the Giant short-faced bear, which was the largest carnivoran of their era.
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.
Range
South of Alaska, the American lion first appeared during the Sangamonian Stage (the last interglacial). After that it was widespread in the Americas from Alaska to Peru, although it was absent from eastern North America and peninsular Florida. As did 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. They may have lined their dens with grass or leaves, as the Siberian tiger does, another great cat that currently lives in the north.
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, or their hunting methods and strategies simply didn't include preying upon entrapped animals to the same degree. American lions likely preyed on deer, North American horses (now extinct), American bison, mammoths, and other large, herbivorous animals.
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 Native Americans, so hunting by humans may have contributed to their demise as well.
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 species of panterine, with the scientific name, Panthera atrox , which means cruel or fearsome lion in Latin). At least one authority considers the cave lion to be more closely related to the tiger, citing a comparison of skull shapes; recent genetic research demonstrates the American lion as an intermediate between the jaguar and the lion/leopard lineage.
In Popular Culture
An American Lion was featured in the BBC documentary series Monsters we Met, where it was played by an African Lion. An American Lion was shown in defending its kill from a giant short-faced bear on an episode of Jurassic Fight Club, but it lost the fight against the bear.
See also
External links
- , from the Messybeast Cat Resource Archive.
- , by C. R. Harrington, from Yukon Beringia Interpretative Center.
- , from the Academy of Natural Sciences. (the original specimen)
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