Panthera fossilis
| Panthera fossilis Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene
Possible Early Pleistocene records. | |
|---|---|
| Skull from Azé, France | |
| Life restoration | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | Pantherinae |
| Genus: | Panthera |
| Species: | †P. fossilis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Panthera fossilis (Reichenau, 1906) | |
| Synonyms | |
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Panthera fossilis (also known as Panthera leo fossilis or Panthera spelaea fossilis) is an extinct species of cat belonging to the genus Panthera, known from remains found in Eurasia spanning the Middle Pleistocene and possibly into the Early Pleistocene.
Although often historically considered a subspecies of the living lion (Panthera leo), Panthera fossilis is currently considered either a distinct species to be ancestral to or a chronosubspecies of Panthera spelaea (commonly known as the cave lion or steppe lion). In comparison to Late Pleistocene Panthera spelaea specimens, Panthera fossilis tends to be considerably larger, up to 400–500 kilograms (880–1,100 lb), considerably exceeding modern lions in size, and making them among the largest cats to have ever lived, along with the South American sabertooth Smilodon populator.